Gregor and the Bone of Bane
by LuxaTheUnderlander
Summary: After fulfilling the unexpected Prophecy of Light, Gregor finds himself absorbed in the Underland and its people in an even bigger way, getting himself tied up in a new prophecy, perhaps the direst yet.Chapters are now titled!
1. Talking to Hera

Gregor

And The

Bone of Bane

Chapter 1

Gregor hadn't been sleeping; he had been looking at his photographs, two in particular, on his windowsill. One showed him with a bunch of his friends, and the other showed him with one friend in particular. But these weren't your average friends.

Gregor was a twelve, almost thirteen year old boy living in a small apartment in New York City. You would say he was average, but then you'd have to look at all of the scars, cuts, and scrapes everywhere on his body. These were from battles fought miles beneath New York, in a place called the Underland.

He had been there six times already, and had been the target of a man called Sandwich's prophecies all six times. His friends down in the Underland consisted of humans, pale sinned, violet eyed people, giant bats, rats, roaches, mice, and more.

The one friend standing with him in the second picture was his bat that he had bonded with, or at least, he had been, before he died. His old bat, Ares, had been killed by a terrible gnawer the Underlanders call the Bane. Gregor had killed him just after, during his fifth visit. Now he had bonded to a beautiful female bat, Hera. She was always happy and cheerful, but was highly skilled in battle. At first, Gregor thought bonding with Hera would be like betraying Ares, but after he realized that Ares would have been happy for him, because Hera had been his friend.

Gregor had been back in the Overland for nearly four months now; it was the beginning of January. The bitter cold weather was even worse, now at the dead of winter. Gregor wished he was allowed to return to the Underland; the temperature was always comfortable there. But he didn't dare ask, because his mom would have lectured him n the importance of staying safe.

"G-Gregor?" Gregor's sister Lizzie had stepped into his tiny bedroom. "G-Gregor, c-could we borrow a-a b-blanket?" she stuttered, shivering.

"Sure, Liz." Gregor answered tossing her a blanket. She caught it, wrapped it around her, and walked into the living room to curl up and watch _Spongebob_, as she always did on Saturday mornings.

Figuring that it would be no use trying to go back to sleep, he went into the kitchen. Mrs. Cormaci had left about an hour ago, leaving a plate of toast for anyone who wanted it. Gregor grabbed a piece, poured himself a bit of hot chocolate, and sat on the couch with Lizzie. As he crunched his toast, he thought about the Queen of the Underland human city, Regalia. As he sipped his hot chocolate, he remembered her evil cousin, Henry. What was Luxa doing now? Did they do anything with Henry's body, or did they just let it sit in that giant cavern? And the rats, were they cool with the humans now? Or had they changed their minds and turned against them? Four months in the dark was a lot for Gregor.

Gregor's mom emerged from Lizzie and Boots's room carrying a sleepy but awake Boots. Boots squirmed out of her arms and ran to the couch to watch _Spongebob_. She giggled when Squidward hit Patrick on the head with a coconut.

Gregor's mom turned to him. "Gregor, can you go do the laundry? And _no delays_!" she said.

"Sure, mom." Gregor's family had used the Laundromat down the street since Gregor first fell, but this winter was way to cold to walk down the street once every four days, so they went back to using the apartment building's laundry room.

Gregor got the laundry bag and walked down the steps to the laundry room. When he got there, he began to load up the washer, but was distracted when he heard a rattling from the grate. "It's probably just the currents." Gregor thought, trying to think nothing of it. But it wasn't.

"Gregor!" a voice hissed. Gregor's head snapped to the grate. His bond, the white and gold speckled bat, Hera, was poking her nose through the grate.

"Hera! What the…what are you doing here?" Gregor gaped at her. She smiled at his astounded face.

"I have been waiting all day! I came to remind you. Luxa's birthday is in two days, and I am sure she would love it if you would attend. It would be a surprise." Hera said.

"Yeah, well…I don't…what if I can't?" Gregor stuttered. He wanted to go and be with Luxa _so bad_, it wasn't even funny. But what if his mom said no? But still, it was just a birthday…

"I do not know, I just thought you would like to come. But if you do not want to, then I cannot force you." said Hera, turning to go.

"Wait, Hera!" Gregor cried, stopping his bat.

"Yes?" she purred, smiling.

"I'll…I'll be there, don't worry." He assured her.

"Very well, I shall come for you in two days, at this same time." Hera said. She held out her claw.

"Thanks, Hera." Gregor replied. He bent down and grasped her claw with his hand to signify that they were bonds, and she flew away. Gregor straightened up and exited the laundry room. _How_ was he going to be able to go to the Underland for Luxa's birthday? How would he get his mom to give him permission to go?

The answer came to him, but he didn't like it. If he wanted to go to the Underland for Luxa's birthday, he would have to tell his mother what happened between him and Luxa during his last visit. Luxa had been the first person Gregor had met in the Underland. At first, they had not liked each other that much, but Luxa had softened up a bit when she was out of Henry's company. Through Gregor's next visits, they became closer and closer until finally, during the War of Time, admitting how they felt about each other. It had been accidental, but during the last visit, almost everyone had found out about them.

That would really be the only way to get Gregor's mom to believe him. Man, she would get a kick out of that. And it would be really embarrassing. But if he wanted to go…

"Mom, can I talk to you?" Gregor was up in his apartment now. His mom had been putting new sheets on his bed.

"Sure, baby, what is it?" she asked, sitting on his bed.

"Umm, you know Luxa?" Gregor took a deep breath.

"Yeah. What about her?" she asked.

"Well…" and Gregor spilled out all he had been holding in about him and Luxa. He started from the time at Hazard's seventh birthday when they had been dancing. He told about how Ripred had noticed and how Howard disapproved. And of how he left for the Firelands because of her and all of the rest of the things that had happened between them. When he had finished, his mom gave him a hug.

"Oh, Gregor, I just _knew _this would happen one day!" she smiled.

"You mean, you don't think it's…funny?" Gregor asked uncertainly. His mom laughed.

"No I don't! I just wish it were a girl from the Overland…" she said. Gregor gulped.

"Yeah, that's another thing…mom, it's Luxa's birthday in two days…and I wanted to know if I could go." He asked.

"How do you know about this?" his mom snapped, suddenly with a change of attitude.

"Umm, Hera told me." Gregor turned away, not wanting to see his mom's angry face.

"You mean you _talked _to her recently?" his mom said, astonished.

"Well, yeah…about ten minutes ago." Gregor said.

"Gregor! And what did you tell her?" she snapped.

"I told her I'd be there." Gregor said, his head drooping.

"Gregor, what am I going to do with you?" his mom sighed.

"Please mom, I need to be there!" Gregor begged. His mom sighed again.

"All right! You can go! But I'm really getting sick of this, Gregor!" she walked out, leaving Gregor alone, a grin spreading from ear to ear.


	2. The mysterious painting

Chapter 2

"Gregor, why are you so happy?" Lizzie asked. Gregor was so happy to be going to Luxa's birthday that he had been skipping…yes, literally _skipping_, throughout the house. His mom had been watching, utterly amused, as he did.

"Oh, no reason." Gregor answered, happily eating a cheez doodle from the bag on the table. It was a real treat for them, but their money from an old violin from the Underland that they had sold had not yet run out, so they had enough for the occasional treat.

"Okay…" Lizzie said, but didn't look very reassured. "You know, Gregor, wouldn't you like if you got a _present _on your _birthday_?" she hinted with a small smile. Gregor stopped skipping with a jolt. First, he gave a look over at his mother, who shrugged. Gregor knew she had told Lizzie, and he was surprised Lizzie wasn't angry that she couldn't go. Then he slapped himself in the head.

He had forgotten to get Luxa a present! Of course, she would probably say he didn't need to bring one, but now that his mother knew about their relationship, he knew she would make him get her a gift because she was his _special friend_. He had to admit, she _had _taken it better then he thought, but after she had embarrassed him so much by cooing over Gregor having his first real _girlfriend_.

"Uhh, mom? I'm going, umm, out." Gregor called to his mom, who had retreated into the living room.

"Okay, Gregor, just be careful. Use your money from Mrs. Cormaci." She replied, guessing his plans.

"Okay," Gregor agreed, pulling on his heaviest coat, hat, gloves, boots, and scarf and walking out the door. Once he had taken the elevator down and walked out the front doors, he faced himself with the rough decision of what he was going to buy.

Shopping for Hazard had been easy; after all, he was a seven year old _boy_, not a thirteen year old _girl_. This was guaranteed to be much harder. Normally for his Overland friend Angelina's birthday, they had gotten her either a cheap gift certificate to some restaurant or store or a case of shabby make-up. Not anything special. But as Luxa was from the Underland and barely worried about her appearance, neither gift would be useful to her.

He had forty dollars from his last time at Ms. Cormaci's, and he could afford a decent gift. He thought about things a girl would like, even though Luxa wasn't a normal girl. Clothes were the first thing that came to his mind, but compared to that super soft spider silk the Underlanders wore, it would probably be uncomfortable. Maybe he would just walk up and down Fifth Street; that would probably the most likely place shop.

He passed Macy's, J.C. Penney, and a bunch of other big department stores, but nothing in there would really get Luxa. After he unsuccessfully found nothing, he retreated down another street. There he had some luck.

He saw a small painting shop, which examples of the artwork the artists did covering the window. It included a picture of; Gregor's heart gave a leap, bats! He could ask the artist to paint a picture of Aurora for Luxa!

Gregor entered the shop and saw that it was pretty much empty. There was just a single artist sitting behind a canvas. The man looked up when Gregor walked in.

"Umm, hello. I'm Gregor." Gregor introduced himself.

"I am Renaldo. Would you like me to paint something for you?" the man responded.

"Uhh, yes. Can you paint me a picture of a golden bat? It's for a friend." Gregor asked uncertainly.

Renaldo looked at him quizzically, but nodded. "It will be twenty-two dollars. I should have it ready in an hour. You are welcome to stay, but you probably want to go until it's completed." He said. Gregor nodded and stepped out.

He still had eighteen dollars left out of his forty that he brought with him. For some reason, he wanted to get Luxa more than just a picture of Aurora. He felt that he needed something more serious for her. The answer came to him as he walked back on to Fifth Street and looked into a Macy's window.

Jewelry, it was perfect! Of course, Luxa couldn't wear it in battle, but she could wear it to ceremonies!

He stepped into the store and made his way to where he remembered the jewelry counter to be. He looked at all the different necklaces until he found one he loved. The chain was really like a chain, kind of like a dog collar. There was a little golden heart on the end of it, but it was flat and did not open, so it was not a locket. Gregor knew the necklace wasn't real gold, because it was only seventeen dollars, but it looked pretty anyway, and he knew Luxa wouldn't care. A lady put it in a small box and Gregor paid for it and left the store.

Gregor roamed around the street until he thought the hour was up. Then he returned to the art shop to get the painting of Aurora.

"Ah yes, Mr. Gregor. I hope your friend enjoys the painting." Renaldo greeted him as he stepped into the shop. The painting took Gregor's breath away.

Renaldo had drawn Aurora flying into the distance with her head turned, looking back. Her perfect, golden fur looked as if it was giving off a glow itself. The strange thing about it was that it really looked like a giant bat, not the sort of freaky overland ones.

The background was like a cave, and it did look sort of like an Underland cavern. Gregor stared at the painting, speechless with admiration, for a few more seconds. Then thanked and paid Renaldo and started out the door.

"Bats like big caves." Renaldo called out to him. Gregor turned his head back, eyes wide. The Underland was just one big cave itself! Did Renaldo know about it?

Gregor quickly went away, still extremely confused. He walked back to his apartment with his purchases. It was getting late, Gregor's watch said six o'clock. His mom would have dinner ready now.

He got on the elevator in his apartment building and went up to his floor.

"Gregor's back, Gregor's back!" Boots danced around when he opened the door. He saw his mom in the kitchen, putting a steaming plate of soup on the table. She waved to him and beckoned him to come and eat.

Gregor put his purchases in his room and took off his coat, hat, gloves, scarf, and boots. Then he went back into the kitchen where his parents, Boots, and Lizzie were already seated.

The soup tasted wonderful in the cold January temperatures. Gregor told his family about what he got for Luxa, but kept the part about Renaldo's strange behavior to himself. Then they all watched a quick show on Animal Planet, then went to bed.

The next day was pretty quiet; Gregor, his dad, and his sisters all went to see a movie and get some pizza. Then they just sat around until dinner and bed.

Gregor awoke the next morning and remembered that he was supposed to meet Hera around nine. It was eight-fifteen. He dressed quickly and ate breakfast. He grabbed one of his old backpacks and stuffed Luxa's gifts, along with a card from his whole family and Mrs. Cormaci, into it. It was now two minutes to nine, so he said goodbye to everyone.

"Take care you don't get into any more wars, Gregor." His mom said as she hugged him.

"I'll be careful, mom!" Gregor assured her, and then went down to the laundry room.

Hera was already there, waiting. "Greetings, Gregor!" she purred happily.

"I told you I'd come." Gregor said. He let himself drop into the grate and Hera had him in seconds.

"Yes, I had no doubt you would." She said, and together the pair flew off down to the Underland.


	3. The name

Chapter 3

"So, Hera, what've you been up to lately?" Gregor asked Hera. They had just exited the long tube and were flying down the tunnels to Regalia.

"Nothing much. Oh yes, Gregor, Vikus has had a relapse." Hera answered solemnly.

Gregor gasped. "What? You mean he's had another stroke?"

"Yes. But he is doing much better now, although he is completely paralyzed on his right side. The doctors think he will be like that for the rest of his life." Hera sighed.

"Which probably won't be to long," Gregor thought to himself, but he didn't say it aloud. Hera sounded sad enough as it was. Aloud he said, "So how's Luxa?"

"Very well, a little busy what with Vikus being paralyzed and not very able, but she is holding together. Thirteen is a big year for Royal Underlanders." Hera answered. Gregor had the vague idea of a bar or bat mitzvah, what Jewish people held for the thirteenth year, when a boy became man and a girl became a woman.

"You see, it marks the year of responsibility. Luxa is now, as of today, an official Queen-in-training. She learns every responsibility thoroughly." Hera brought him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, okay." Gregor said, thinking about this.

"Gregor, we near the city. Now we must go over the plan." Hera said.

"The plan?" Gregor asked, confused. He hadn't known any plan was involved.

"Yes. I am the absolute _only_ one who knows you are coming, so we must keep it a secret until the party itself. We want Luxa to be very surprised, do we not?" Hera explained. Gregor nodded. "Okay, here is the plan. I will lead you to one of the palace's bathrooms, to bathe. You stay there, and I will sneak you clothes. I'll be standing around the door, when you are finished, knock twice on it, and I'll knock once if it is okay to exit, twice if not. Then we'll find an unused room, and I will get frequent updates of when the party will begin. Do you understand?" Hera explained again. Gregor's head was spinning, but he thought he understood. He said, "Yes."

Suddenly they entered the arena. There were not many Underlanders in it, but there were some. Hera tried to fly near the seats so they didn't see Gregor. But some did see Hera.

"Hello, Hera!" an Underlander woman called.

"Greetings, Keedra!" Hera called back, quickening her flight speed.

"Good early day, Hera!" a man called.

"You as well, Pervett!" Hera called again, flying even faster. She dipped quickly into a tunnel before anyone else could see her. They flew for only a few more minutes before they entered Regalia.

Gregor stared down at the city he had come to love. They had almost completely repaired the damage the War of Time had caused.

"Okay, I will drop you in a window, and I shall fly through the High Hall. You meet me at the bathroom near Ripred's room and the old nursery." Hera said as they neared the palace.

"Okay." Gregor agreed. Hera dropped him in a window about 200 feet above the ground. He ran down the hall, trying to make sure no Underlanders saw him, which wasn't too hard. There weren't many around. He made his way through all the hallways and to the bathroom Hera had mentioned. He waited until there was a knock.

"It is I, with your clothing." Hera hissed. She dumped some midnight blue garments on the ground off of her back. Gregor undressed and got into the pool-like bath.

It was really refreshing. The water was warm enough for comfort but not to hot. He bathed quick, not wanting to keep Hera waiting. He dried himself off with the spider-silk towels and dressed in the clothes Hera had brought him. Her knocked twice and waited for Hera to knock back. But he heard another two knocks, meaning the coast was not clear.

From beyond the door Gregor heard the booming voice of Luxa's sixteen year old cousin, Howard, questioning Hera. "Hello Hera, what business do you have in this part of the palace?" Howard asked.

"I was just looking for Aurora." Hera answered. According to her tone, she had had this lie planned for a while.

"She is in my cousin's chambers, preparing for the party. Would you like to accompany me there?" Howard asked.

"Thank you, Howard, but I need a moment. I seem to have need of…um, a quick rest." Hera answered quickly. Gregor stifled the impulse to laugh at Hera's excuse.

"Okay." Gregor heard the disbelieving tone in Howard's voice, but he also heard Howard footsteps going away. Hera then knocked once and Gregor emerged from the bathroom.

"Well, that was close." Hera snickered. "Come, this way." She led Gregor to an empty nearby room. It was a bedroom, but not one of the fancier ones. "I will go find out how long we have." Hera flew out of the room, and Gregor was left alone. His thoughts turned to Renaldo, the mysterious artist.

Did he know about the Underland? And if he did, how? Had he been there before? But wouldn't the Regalians tell him about it if he had? It was possible that the bat painting was just an odd coincidence, but it seemed too strange to be one.

Gregor took the painting out of his backpack and looked at it closer. Yes, it did look just like a giant bat. It was really weird…

Hera returned some minutes later. It kept going like that, Hera went to go check the time and how long they had, and Gregor got lost in thought. Finally, Hera returned and said they should be going. Gregor jumped and Hera was under him.

It took a bit longer to get out of the palace, for the party was in the arena. They had to take some back corridors so no one saw them.

"Hera, how am I going to…surprise Luxa, exactly?" Gregor asked his bat when they finally exited the palace.

"It is quite simple. We will just hide in the seats of the arena, and when Luxa comes in, you go and greet her." Hera answered.

"Okay, that does sound easy." Gregor said, relieved that it didn't involve another whole "plan".

"I must believe that you have a gift for her, according to the size of that backpack?" Hera asked him.

"Yeah, actually, I have two." Gregor answered.

"Wonderful." Hera said. Gregor looked at the painting of Aurora again. This time he turned it around and looked at the back of the canvas.

On the corner of the canvas, there was a little word.

_Aurora_


	4. Surprise, Surprise

Chapter 4

Gregor gave a gasp, which turned into a small choke. Hera stopped in midair, but still beating her wings so they would stay up. She turned her head to him.

"Gregor, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. Gregor caught his breath and answered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a surprise." He said. Hera began to fly again. "Hera, can I tell you something, that you promise not to tell anyone unless I tell you too?"

"Yes, you are my bond, I would not dream of telling someone if you wish for me not to." Hera answered.

Gregor nodded. "Okay then. Listen, one of the gifts I got for Luxa is a painting of Aurora. I just asked this guy to paint a picture of a golden bat. I didn't say the name or anything. Do you have a guess on how the guy knew this?" he held the painting facing backward in front of Hera's face. It took Hera a moment to focus, but she too let out a small gasp of surprise.

"But all Overlanders but you and your family have not survived the Underland, let alone came to Regalia and met my sister! Vikus told me this himself! How is this possible? Gregor, are you completely sure you did not tell the Overlander Aurora's name?" Hera asked.

Gregor sighed. "One hundred percent positive, Hera. Any other explanations?" he asked.

Hera was silent for a moment, but then spoke up. "Perhaps he can foretell coming events, like Bartholomew of Sandwich or Nerissa? Perhaps he knew you were going to meet a golden bat named Aurora in a land miles beneath the earth's surface?"

Just the way Hera said it made it sound way too far-fetched. "I don't think so, Hera. We don't get much people like Sandwich or Nerissa in the Overland." He said.

"Well, if that is not it, then I have nothing. And we are here." Hera said, and made a sharp turn into the arena. "Be silent, we will find a place to sit unseen until Luxa arrives." She flew them to a spot in the seats near the place where Luxa and Aurora would fly in.

The arena was full of Regalians, all coming to celebrate their queen's birthday. Gregor estimated that at least a third of the city was here for Luxa. He wondered if it was like this for every one of her birthdays, so he consulted this with Hera.

"Not all. Luxa normally prefers a small dinner with family and close friends, but as this is her thirteenth year, she is required a large gathering." Hera answered.

Gregor saw a familiar looking light-brown bat soar into the arena with a familiar looking black-haired boy on his back. The boy looked around and pointed at a spot that looked close to where Gregor and Hera were hiding. Uh oh.

"Gregor?" Hazard said as he landed and dismounted Apollo.

"No, Hazard, no one was supposed to know I'm here!" Gregor hissed, as not to draw any more attention.

"Oh, sorry. But Hera's not that hard to miss!" Hazard whispered back, and Gregor had to stifle a laugh. Yes, Hera with her pure white fur with golden speckles wasn't easy to look over. Gregor turned his head to Apollo.

Apollo had found them on their quest to save Boots a few months previous. He had been banished for reasons he would not say, but had been allowed back into his land.

"Hey, Apollo. How's it going?" Gregor whispered to the bat.

"Fine. Things have been a lot better than before." Apollo answered. "Hazard has helped me a lot. He is a nice kid."

"Yeah." said Gregor.

A voice brought them all to attention. Gregor noticed Mareth and Vikus sitting in the Royal box. Gregor supposed Mareth was there to help Vikus, after what Hera had said about a relapse. But Vikus was the one who spoke.

"Greetings, all! We are here for the thirteenth birthday of Queen Luxa!" he said. He actually spoke very loud, and brought everyone to attention. Then he pointed with his left arm to the entrance of the arena. Suddenly a golden bat flew in, Aurora. Atop her was Luxa, dressed in the most elegant gown Gregor had ever seen her wear, with her now chest-length silvery-blonde hair in a bun. Her gold band rested on her head. Her legs were swung off the side of Aurora, so she wouldn't wreck the gown. She looked beautiful.

Aurora circled the arena. Gregor was sure Luxa had looked his way, because she nearly fell off Aurora in surprise, but he quickly ducked before she looked again.

Aurora landed and Luxa gracefully dismounted. Everyone cheered, but in a moment it returned to a regular party. People were swarming around food, talking to friends, riding on bats, and Luxa was standing in the center of the arena.

Hera gave him a push with her wing. He walked out to Luxa, who had her back to him. When he reached her, he gave her a tap on the shoulder. She turned his way, and with a quick look of surprise then a smile, she said, "Gregor."

They just stood looking at each other for a moment, and then finally she flung herself on him. They embraced for what seemed like hours, and all Gregor could see was Luxa. He heard the gasps of other Underlanders, but he didn't pay any attention.

Finally, she pulled away, but held both of his hands in hers. "I knew you would come back." She said softly.

"Happy birthday, Luxa." Gregor said with a smile. She hugged him again, but this one was shorter. When they pulled away, they saw Hera and Aurora flying up to them. Howard and Nike joined them in a second.

"You had a need to rest, did you?" Howard said to Hera with a twinkle in his eye. Hera looked surprised.

"I do not…I could not…I was..." she stuttered, but then buried her face in her wing and laughed harder than Gregor had ever seen her laugh. Soon Howard, Nike, and Gregor joined in, but Luxa and Aurora looked puzzled.

"What is going on?" Luxa asked. Finally Gregor and Hera stopped laughing and explained their whole plan. Luxa was very surprised that they pulled this off without anyone but Hazard and Apollo noticing them.

Gregor decided that now would be a good time to give Luxa her presents. He pulled them out of his bag, the necklace first. He handed the box to Luxa.

"What is this?" Luxa asked. Gregor opened it and put the necklace on her. "Oh, Gregor, it is beautiful!" she breathed.

"Wait there's something else." Said Gregor, and he pulled the painting out of his bag. Luxa's face widened in shock as he showed it to her.

"Oh Aurora, look! It is you!" she said to her bat. Aurora to, looked amazed.

"Overlander, where did you get this?" Aurora asked.

"I had some guy paint it for me. I figured Luxa would like to have a picture of her bat." Gregor said.

"Yes, thank you so much Gregor!" Luxa said, smiling. Then, turning back to her bat, she said, "Aurora, it looks just like you!"

They all admired Luxa's gifts for a while longer, but then they went to enjoy the rest of the party.


	5. Kendra

Chapter 5

"So Gregor, how is the Overland?" Luxa asked him. She had changed into a more comfortable outfit, with pants. They were over at the food tables, getting something to eat. Gregor piled a plate with shrimp and cream sauce, beef, and egg-and-cheese pie, a few of his Underland food favorites.

"Normal, nothing interesting. Christmas was great, though." Gregor answered. "Oh wait, you don't know about Christmas, do you? He said, after seeing Luxa's confused face. When she shook her head, Gregor launched into a who explanation of an Overland Christmas, and Luxa seemed very interested. That got them into a whole conversation about Over and Under holidays. Among birthdays in the Underland, there was a Bartholomew of Sandwich day, where they honored Sandwich, and a Peace day, when the humans and their allies gathered for a day of celebrating their peaceful relations.

Before they knew it, Vikus called for the children to have their dances. Gregor, Luxa, Howard, and their bats watched as Hazard, Chim, and the rest of the Underlander kids piled onto the dance floor. Howard's twin siblings, Hero and Kent, first resisted to dancing, and complained that they were eleven and too old, but they eventually went and danced.

Among the songs were "Bat, Bat", that "Join the Dance", song, and the "Hokey Pokey" (which Gregor had taught them at Hazard's birthday). Gregor noticed that the nibbler song, which they had discovered was a prophecy, had been taken out of the lineup. In its place, a song about peace had been added. It went like this.

_Peace has come in the Underland_

_So join together, hold my hand_

_Dance around with me this day_

_In peace we laugh and jump and play_

_Gnawer, human, we are alright_

_No more hatred, no more fight_

_The Underland has light once more_

_Now that we have opened the door_

_As we sing of hope and life_

_Rid of war and battle, and strife_

_For generations we have fought_

_But now peace has been finally brought_

Gregor knew that this song was new. It definitely had reference to the Prophecy of Light. It was slower than most of the songs, so there wasn't a very elaborate dance.

"Gregor? It is our age group's turn." Luxa was pulling Gregor onto the dance floor. Teenage Underlanders, ranging from around twelve to sixteen, were piling onto the dance floor. They were all pairing off. Gregor was afraid Luxa would go find someone else to pair with, but to his relief, she stayed with him.

Luxa walked over to a small group of pairs that all looked around their age, give or take a year or two. "Gregor, these are some of my childhood friends. This is Ludo, Kendra, Harold, Hilva, Jett, and Mya." She introduced. "This is Gregor the Overlander."

Gregor smiled at them, and they all smiled back. One of the girls, Gregor remembered Luxa introducing her as Kendra, stepped closer and held out her hand. Gregor shook it, and Kendra smiled.

"So this is the famous warrior. Whenever Luxa has time to talk to us, all she talks about is you. Of course, she barely ever has time to talk to us." She said, with an arrogant smile back at her friends, excluding Luxa.

The girl called Hilva stepped up quickly. "Of course, Kendra, we know that is because she is a Queen and terribly busy. We do not count this against her, do we Kendra?" she said hastily.

"Yes, of course not." Kendra said, through clenched teeth and a fake smile. Then she turned and gave Hilva a look. Luxa narrowed her eyes at Kendra.

"Come, Gregor. I think we are supposed to dance in the center, as two very important people." She said. Gregor knew that she was saying that they were "very important people" just to annoy Kendra, because Luxa wasn't the type to brag.

Luxa had left her friends with a blazing look on her face, but when they got away, Gregor saw that she had tears in her eyes. "Kendra never used to be like that. Since my parents died and I became Queen, she has held that against me, considering me to be forgetting my friends." She sighed. "It hurts me, because she's always been a great friend of mine."

Gregor wrapped his arms around her and saw Kendra looking at them with a look that was evil…and jealous? She reminded Gregor of Stellovet, but he didn't want to say anything about that to Luxa, because she was definitely still upset about her and Henry's betrayal.

Gregor and Luxa danced to some songs, and then sat back down. They sat farther up in the seats, to be alone. They brought with them a small cake, because they were hungry.

"Gregor, I am so glad you came. But how did you get your mom to allow you?" Luxa asked. Gregor had been waiting for this question, but wasn't sure Luxa would like the answer. With a deep breath he told her about how he told his mom what had been going on with them. To his amazement, Luxa smiled.

"Well, it is worth it, if you could be here. Besides, we cannot lie forever." She said. She moved closer to Gregor and kissed him, and he kissed back. This was becoming normal for them now.

"Luxa!" a voice cried. They jerked away for each other and saw Kendra, hands on her hips, standing in front of them.

"K…Kendra! Umm, we were just…" Luxa's voice trailed off.

"Oh, I know what you were doing. At your own party! You have other guests, you know!" Kendra barked.

Luxa stood up, her anger rising. "It is none of your business what I do at my party. I have not seen Gregor in many months, and he is closer to me then you ever were!" she cried, her attitude completely showing now. She glared at Kendra.

"I…I…" Kendra stuttered, surprised at Luxa's resistance.

"And I am the queen! At least Gregor understands what it is like to lose someone and does not get upset with me if I do something because of it, which is more than I can say for you!" Luxa cried. Gregor could see heads turning their way, but Luxa didn't care.

"I will just…go, then." Kendra took a few steps backward and jumped, and a pretty tan bat caught her and flew her away. Gregor turned to Luxa, but she just shook her head.

"I am sorry, Gregor." She said. She ran forward as far as she could and launched herself into the air, doing a complicated sequence of flips and spins before Aurora caught her and flew away. Gregor just stared, dumbfounded, at the spot where they had left. Seconds later, Hera had flown up next to him.

"Um, Gregor, forgive me for interfering, but what just happened?" she asked. Gregor told her about what happened with Kendra. Hera didn't seem very surprised.

"Yes, Aurora told me about her. Her flier is not a sweet one, either." Hera sighed.

"What's her name?" Gregor asked.

"Leda. She is perhaps one of the most graceful fliers in our lands, and she does not forget to brag about that." Hera sighed. Gregor nodded. "Do you want to go find Luxa?" Hera asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Gregor agreed. He jumped, and Hera caught him. Before they could get very far, though, they saw Vikus in the Royal box waving them down from the sky.

Hera quickly landed in the box and Gregor rushed over to Vikus. "What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the worried look on his face.

"Gregor, you must find Luxa!" Vikus cried. "It is Nerissa, she is terribly unwell!"


	6. An upsetting death

Chapter 6

"What? What happened?" Gregor stuttered. Gregor knew Nerissa was frail and weak, but Vikus sounded terribly worried.

"I cannot explain now, but please, I beg of you, find Luxa and bring her to Nerissa's chambers. She knows where it is!" Vikus begged.

"Okay, me and Hera will find Luxa. Don't worry, Vikus, Nerissa will be all right." Gregor said. He launched himself off of the side of the royal box and Hera caught him. They sped off down the tunnel where Luxa and Aurora had left.

The tunnels seemed familiar to Gregor, until finally, he realized where they were, and where Luxa and Aurora went. "Hera, go to Ares's cave!" he cried to his bat.

"Okay." Hera answered, understanding. She made a sharp turn down a tunnel to their left and after a couple minutes landed in Ares's old hideout. Sure enough, Luxa and Aurora were there. Luxa was pacing the cave with a horribly angry look on her face, muttering about Kendra.

"I am sick of her! Sick of…oh, hello Gregor, hello Hera." Luxa said gloomily when she realized they were there.

"Luxa, you have to come back! Vikus says Nerissa's really sick or something, and he needs you there now!" Gregor cried. He hadn't even bothered to dismount Hera.

Luxa's expression turned from anger to astonishment and worry, and she quickly mounted Aurora and sped off out of the cave and down the tunnel, Gregor and Hera close behind.

"Did he say anything else? Like what has happened to her?" Luxa asked sharply.

"No, just that she's sick, and he needs you." Gregor answered.

Luxa shook her head lightly, and Gregor heard her mutter, "What a birthday." He felt really bad for her; this was supposed to be a really special day for her. Her friend was mad at her, her cousin was really sick, could it be any worse?

The answer came when they rushed into Nerissa's room.

Nerissa had not come to the party, but no one had known that. She looked like she was on her deathbed. Now she was passed out on her bed, her face white as a sheet, much paler than average Underlander skin, and eyes shut tight. Her skin was cold and clammy, and her arm was over the side of her bed. Her hair was knotty and horrible. For one terrible moment, Gregor thought she was dead, but then he saw the tiniest movement in her chest.

Luxa just stood in the doorway, staring at her suffering cousin. Gregor saw her mouth the word "Nerissa", but she still didn't move.

Howard was also there, bent over Nerissa and trying to force some kind of medicine in her mouth. When he finally got it in, he straightened up, and when he saw Luxa in the doorway, he wrapped her in an embrace. The cousins stayed that way, and Gregor was sure they were both crying.

Gregor suddenly saw Nerissa give a twitch, and without opening her eyes, she moaned, "Gregor". In shock, Gregor went up to her, and she grasped his hand tightly and moaned, "The prophecy". What prophecy?

Vikus turned to Gregor. "Gregor, could you possibly go and fetch Doctor Cathett, in the hospital level?" he asked him.

Gregor was only too happy to get away from the tears, and besides, this was probably a family thing, so he nodded and stepped out. He ran down to the hospital level and asked around to find where Doctor Cathett was. He finally found her and told her what happened, and she accompanied him up to the room.

"What exactly has happened to her, Overlander? What are her symptoms?" she asked, as they rushed upstairs.

"Well, she's really pale, and cold, and looks dead, but she's alive." Gregor explained. Not a first-class explanation, but it would work.

Doctor Cathett just shook her head, and muttered to herself. Gregor couldn't make out what she was saying.

Finally they reached the room, but Gregor wished they hadn't. Luxa flung herself on him as soon as he opened the door, and he could feel her hot tears into his shoulder. Over her shoulder he saw the tearstained faces of his friends, and Nerissa covered in a blanket. Gregor knew she was gone.

Doctor Cathett stared in shock, and then went up to Nerissa's body. She checked her pulse, heartbeat, eyes, but finally stood up and nodded sadly. Then she rushed out of the room. Luxa was the last remaining descendant of the royal family.

After what seemed like hours, but were really only minutes, a pair of Underlanders loaded Nerissa's body onto a stretcher. The sheet was lifted a little bit and Gregor caught a glimpse of her white face. Her eyes were lying open, and Gregor guessed she had opened them before she died. The sheet was quickly pulled on again, but the horrible sight was still in Gregor's mind.

Luxa slowly walked over to a stone shelf carved out of the wall in the room. She took off it a picture—Gregor saw that it was one of her, Nerissa, and Henry—and ran out of the room with it. Gregor wanted to follow her, to comfort her, but he had no idea what to say.

Suddenly he felt something brush his shoulder. He looked up into the face of Hera. He pressed his face into his bat's soft fur and cried. She wrapped her wings around him. Did bats cry? Because Gregor thought he heard muffled sobs of Hera's.

Gregor was sick of death, how it tore apart families and ruined lives. In the Underland, no one really had a fair chance at life; around every corner, there could be something waiting to kill you. There were so many others like Nerissa, others who hadn't gotten a fair chance to live.

"Gregor?" someone said. Gregor knew it was Vikus. He left the safety and comfort of Hera's fur and turned to Vikus. "Gregor, have you any clue what," he let out a cry, "Nerissa meant when she mentioned, 'the prophecy'?" he asked.

In truth, Nerissa's sudden death had brought Gregor's mind away from this. But Gregor wasn't sure what she meant. There couldn't be another prophecy, could there? "I don't know, Vikus." He answered sadly. Vikus sighed.

"I guess that still remains a mystery." He said. He stood up and began to pace the room.

Gregor thought for a while. He thought about the other prophecies. How could there be more about him, if they had checked the prophecy room and there were no more rooms like the one they had found the Prophecy of Light in?

"Gregor!" Vikus's startled voice rang out, driving him away from his thoughts. "I have just realized something! Please follow!" he cried. He hurried out of the room, pretty fast for someone totally paralyzed on his right side, and Gregor followed. To his surprise, Vikus led him straight to the prophecy room.

Vikus scanned the walls for a moment, and finally he found what he was looking for. He jabbed his finger onto a jumble of words, and as Gregor read it he knew it had something to do with him.

There was no doubt now; it was another prophecy.


	7. Another prophecy

Chapter 7

"No." Gregor moaned, reading the words over and over again. "No. Not another one." Vikus just shrugged. Gregor reread the prophecy again.

_He drained the light of white in fight_

_Helped stop the nibblers' deathly plight_

_One marked by those hands of pearl_

_Together with a long-lost girl_

_Is life still there, or is death near?_

_Could it be the blood of Underlanders here?_

_Has fate been decided in violent ways?_

_Can we stick to painless days?_

_Retrieve the bone of pure-white snow_

_The Bone of Bane hidden below_

_There is no chance of quick escape_

_If it does not take a different shape_

_Is life still there, or is death near?_

_Could it be the blood of Underlanders here?_

_Has fate been decided in violent ways?_

_Can we stick to painless days?_

_Can he hold when her life is at cost?_

_Else he will be among the lost_

_Is light life, or is it death?_

_Decided on the final breath_

And there it was again. A repeating stanza. He had come across one of them during his third visit to the Underland, in the Prophecy of Bone. Again, this repeating stanza seemed as unclear as the last. It looked as if it was just asking questions, but why these kind of questions? Wasn't everything supposed to be okay now, with Gushgore and his armies and Henry defeated?

But there was one thing that puzzled Gregor more than repeating stanzas and cryptic questions. It was the fact that he had never seen this prophecy before. He had been in the prophecy room thousands of times before, and not one time had he noticed the other prophecy about the warrior. Why had nobody told him?

But it seemed Vikus had the answer. "We have noted this prophecy, The Prophecy of Bone, many times before; it just seemed so cryptic that we did not know what to do about it." He said, sighing.

"But…why didn't you tell me there was another one about me?" Gregor asked, still confused.

"Because we did not notice it involved you. If you look closely, Gregor, it does not say 'Overlander' or 'warrior' anywhere." Vikus said automatically. Gregor looked again, and realized that he was right. "We have not looked it over closely since before the War of Time, so we did not have time to unravel the first stanza, which I now find to be clearly about you. Go on, read it." Vikus continued. Gregor read aloud the first stanza.

_He drained the light of White in fight_

_Helped stop the nibblers' deathly plight_

_One marked by those hands of pearl_

_Together with a long-lost girl_

He realized he did know what they meant, and they were about him. "He drained the light of white in fight. That's about me killing the Bane, right?" he looked to Vikus for conformation. Vikus nodded. "Helped stop the nibblers' deathly plight…when I killed the Bane, the nibblers were saved." Gregor continued. Vikus nodded again. "One marked by those hands of pearl… That's my scars, from the Bane!" Gregor said excitedly. Vikus nodded, and pointed to the final line. This one was a little harder. "Together with a long-lost girl." Gregor paused for a moment, and then gasped. "Vikus…does that mean…Hera?" he asked.

"That is what I think. She has been long-lost, and thought to be dead. Now she has been found, and she is together with you." Vikus said. Gregor nodded slowly. That meant…he had been right, he was destined to bond with Hera.

A flutter of familiar black and red wings startled them. Nyx, whom Gregor had not seen in four months, and also whom he owed his life too, landed.

"I have only just arrived. Aurora and Luxa flew to my home, and told me. Oh, Vikus, not Nerissa?" she panted, sadly looking at Vikus. Vikus nodded sadly.

"Nyx!" Gregor cried, happy to see the bat again.

"Hello Gregor." Nyx replied. Suddenly another flutter of wings, this time black, red, and gray, flew in.

"Mother!" The bat panted. It was Nyx's daughter, little Persephone, but she wasn't so little anymore. Persephone had grown a lot in the last four months, now more than half the size of her mother.

"Persephone, you followed? You were told to stay with Astraea!" Nyx scolded her, but wrapped her wings around her daughter all the same.

"I wanted to come anyway. Chim is here, for queen Luxa's birthday." Persephone said. Gregor remembered how Chim and Persephone had taken a liking to each other at the end of his last visit.

"Ughh, Persephone, you must clean your fur. It is horrible, full of dust and ash! I do not see why Castor insisted on taking you on that trip to the Firelands!" Nyx said.

Persephone started to groom her fur, but scowled at her mother all the same. "He took me because he says I need to know the Underland more, now that I am old enough to fly around on my own. And besides, Castor is nice!" Persephone said defensively. She gave one last "hmmph" to her mother, and then flew out of the room. Nyx just shook her head. The whole thing made Gregor laugh, and Vikus and Nyx eventually joined in. But Vikus looked solemn again quickly.

"So, Gregor, will you stay and fulfill the prophecy? You do not have to, of course." He added quickly.

Gregor's mind was spinning. He had the opportunity to leave the prophecy, go home, and not deal with the troubles they caused ever again. He could go home and [attempt to lead a normal life, going to school, hanging out with friends, all the stuff a normal teenage boy should do.

Yeah, right.

In Gregor's mind, he had virtually no choice. He was in to deep, totally bound to the Underland. Even if he did chose to return home, he could _never_—not ever, lead a normal life. With his rager instincts, scars, and now nearly as pale as Underlander skin, he was bound to attract questions, and had already had, in the past four months. So there was no choice.

"I have to stay." Gregor said. "I've got no choice."

And he left it at that.

"Well, I should go find Persephone. If I know her, she will go off exploring and decide not to come back." Nyx said, breaking the silence. "Bit too much like her father, really." She muttered under her breath, but Gregor had heard her and knew what she meant.

Persephone's father was a pure evil, outcast flier named Thor. Nyx had been scarred by her past, and went with him, became his mate, and turned evil. Then little Persephone was born. Even though Nyx turned good and helped Gregor defeat Luxa's cousin Henry, Persephone obviously still had her father's evil blood in her. Persephone seemed okay, but you never know. Hopefully she inherited more of her mother, because it was not just the fact that Nyx was good now, it was the fact that she was Ares's sister.

When Gregor was jerked out of his thoughts, Nyx and Vikus had left. Gregor leaned against the new prophecy. So he was supposed to retrieve some bone. Weird.

"Gregor?" a soft voice said from the doorway. Gregor turned his head. It was Luxa. "Gregor, I have just met Vikus in the hall. Is it true? There is a new prophecy?" she asked. She walked over to Gregor and grasped his hands.

"Yeah. Gregor said. He put his arm around Luxa and they walked out.


	8. The Prophecy room

Chapter 8

_"I've got to get in closer if I'm going to take him out!"_

_Bane grabs Ares's throat, tears it, Ares falls, Bane claws Gregor's chest, Gregor stabs Bane._

_"NO! Ares!"_

_Gregor runs to Ares's side, lays his head on bloody fur. Gregor grasps bloody claw in hand._

_"Don't go, Ares, okay? Don't!" _

_Pain in chest stabbing at him, breath coming in short gasps; he was dying, dying…_

Gregor awoke with a start. He was sweating like hell, from that dream. But what made him have that dream? He hadn't had it since he came to the Underland for the Prophecy of Light. Why had it come again?

Gregor had written a letter to his mom yesterday, telling her what had happened, and dropped it off. Right before he had gone to bed, him and Hera had flown back up to get the reply. Instead, they had gotten her.

"Gregor! I am fed up—do you hear me, fed up—with all these prophecies!! If you know what's best for you, you'll come up home and forget about your war and battles and all your stupid friends down there!" she had screamed at him.

Gregor had known that she hadn't really meant that his friends were stupid, he knew she liked them all very much, but the damage was already done. Hera had looked heartbroken. Even though Hera probably didn't know exactly what stupid meant, she could tell by her tone that it was an insult. His mom had forgotten Hera was there.

"Oh Hera, I'm sorry! I didn't mean…Gregor knows I didn't…" his mom had said. "I was just angry…I really don't…" she stuttered. "All right fine, you can stay, Gregor!" she cried.

Gregor had hardly dared to believe his ears. But she wasn't joking. As they had turned to go, they had heard running footsteps. Lizzie and Boots had come running into the laundry room. Lizzie begged and begged to go too; she wanted to see Daedalus, her bond. After some argument and tears, their mom had finally let Lizzie and Boots come.

So that was how he was here, now, with Lizzie and Boots.

Gregor decided he couldn't sleep anymore, so he got up and went into the hall. All was quiet, so he assumed it was still very late. He roamed for a while, and then finally decided to go to the prophecy room.

He stepped into the room and closed the wooden door. In the dim torchlight, he could see the walls covered in prophecy. It was kind of eerie, really. He went over to where the torchlight was strongest, near the_ Prophecy of Bone. _He read it over againVikus was right; it was really cryptic.

He then moved across the wall, stopping at the _Prophecy of Time_. That was what he had been dreaming about. This was during the War of Time. This one predicted the most horrible things, and it brought the worst death over the Underland. During that prophecy they had lost Solovet, Cartesian, and so many others. But worst of all, was Ares.

Then he moved over to the _Prophecy of Blood. _That was when the Underland had been hit by a horrible plague. Ares had been hit the worst, along with his mother and Howard and Andromeda. They had found the cure, but also lost someone they had just found, Hamnet, Hazard's father.

Then there was the _Prophecy of Bane. _The Underlanders told Gregor to destroy the Bane, and to their surprise, it had been a baby. That was also a very special trip to Gregor. It was the first trip with Ares as official bonds. They had become very close to each other.

Finally, he came to the _Prophecy of Gray_. That was his first ever trip to the Underland. It seemed so long ago; he hadn't even been using a sword! That was when they all thought Henry was good. That trip was also when Gregor had found his dad.

And far away, down below the palace, Gregor knew the _Prophecy of Light _was carved into the wall. That was only four months ago. He had met Hera then, and discovered Henry was still alive. He had also met Clipclaw, Nyx, and Persephone. The relationship between him and Luxa had also become much more serious.

He sat down and read over the prophecies again. It seemed unreal that there was another one, but was he really ready for another one?

"Gregor? GREGOR!"

Gregor awoke to someone screaming his name from behind the Prophecy room door and pounding on it. He had forgotten he had locked it. He quickly hopped up and opened it, and when he did, an insanely worried Luxa threw herself on him. She hugged him for a minute, and Gregor patted her back awkwardly.

But then she pulled away and slapped him.

"OUCH! What was that for?" Gregor asked, backing away from her.

"I went to awaken you and you were GONE!!! We looked EVERYWHERE, but we could not find you! Your sisters are in tears from worry!" Luxa screamed at him. Her face was really angry, and it startled Gregor.

"Luxa!" a voice said sharply. Vikus was standing there. He hurried up to Luxa and grabbed her arms, restraining her. "Luxa, what is this?"

"I—found—Gregor! And he—did not—have the decency—to tell us—where—he—WENT!" Luxa cried, fighting to break free of Vikus.

"Luxa! I assume he could not sleep, then only came to the prophecy and fell asleep without meaning too!" Vikus said. Gregor nodded vigorously.

Luxa finally broke free of Vikus and ran at Gregor. Gregor flinched, expecting her to hit him again, but instead she kissed him, deeper than she had ever done before. Vikus looked amused, and stepped away. But Luxa didn't pull away for a while. When she finally did, she took a deep breath. She spoke calmly now.

Gregor, we must dine quickly. They say we must go to training, because of what the prophecy says. They want us to start on the quest to get the Bone of Bane quickly, and we must train for that." She said.

"Okay." Gregor answered. They walked to the dining hall where some breakfast cake was waiting for them. Lizzie and Boots were there. Lizzie appeared to be crying. She jumped onto him when he entered the room.

"Gregor! You're okay!" she cried. Gregor reassured her that he was indeed, fine, and they sat down to eat.

Howard and Nike were there, and soon the other bats, Hera, Aurora, and Daedalus arrived. They had apparently been looking for Gregor too, and were all happy to see that he was okay.

When the meal was over, Dulcet, the nice nanny, came to get Boots. Boots was happy to see her. Gregor had thought Lizzie would go with her too, and when she didn't, he was surprised.

"Lizzie, aren't you going with Boots?" Gregor asked. It was Luxa who answered.

"Oh no, Gregor, did I not tell you? She and Daedalus are going to train with us."


	9. Training again

Chapter 9

"What do you mean, she's coming with us?" Gregor cried, jumping to his feet. "I don't want her fighting!"

Luxa walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Gregor. She will not be fighting; she is going to practice flight maneuvers with us. Do not fear." She soothed. Gregor looked over at Lizzie.

"You sure you want to, Liz?" he asked her.

Lizzie took a deep breath and replied, "I….yes."

"Well, now that this is settled, Howard, can you go and fetch Hazard?" Vikus asked. Luxa immediately looked shocked.

Hazard? Why is he coming? He will not be fighting; do you not remember Hamnet's dying wish? He cannot fight!" she cried.

"Calm, Luxa. He, too, will be practicing flight maneuvers with Lizzie and Daedalus on Apollo. It has been decided that you will probably need a translator on your quest, so Hazard will accompany you." Vikus said. Luxa relaxed a bit, but still looked a little tense.

A few minutes later, Howard returned with Hazard. Apollo was behind them. As soon as everyone was there, they all mounted their bats and flew off.

"Remember, do not be too late, we will have a quest meeting before dining!" Vikus called to them as they flew away.

As they flew, Gregor noticed Lizzie looked a little scared. He told Hera to fly next to Daedalus. "Liz, what's wrong?" he asked her.

"What—if I—fall?" she stuttered.

"Do not worry, Daedalus will always catch you. As long as you have a flier, you will be caught." Hera stepped in and reassured her.

"Henry and Stellovet weren't caught." Lizzie said. Gregor had to admit she had a point, but apparently, Hera had an answer.

"That is because their fliers were prevented from catching them. That will not happen with you, we promise." She said. Lizzie looked a little better.

"Do not fear, Lizzie. Do you think I would allow you to fall?" Daedalus, the creamy white bat who was Lizzie's bond, spoke up. Lizzie laughed.

"No, you wouldn't. I'm sorry." She said.

They finally reached the arena. Daedalus, Lizzie, Hazard, and Apollo were beckoned by Perdita and her bat, Theia over to one side of the arena. Gregor, Hera, Luxa, Aurora, Howard, and Nike went over to Mareth and Andromeda. Ripred happened to be there too.

"Hey Ripred." Gregor greeted the rat.

"Gregor." Ripred raised a paw to Gregor. "Hera."

Hera gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Hello, Ripred."

"Okay, let us begin." Mareth spoke up. Everyone mounted their bats and flew upward while Ripred went to sit down. "Okay, while Perdita and the others practice flight maneuvers because some of us do not wish them to fight," Mareth looked over at Gregor and Luxa, though it was not in an accusing way, "we will be practicing aerial attacks and defenses, more complex than you have ever done, because we are not sure what may attack you." he said. "I suppose we should begin with the coiler, in case it is spinners."

Gregor had seen the coiler once before, nearly two years ago. When they had been trapped in a web in the spinner lands, Luxa and Aurora had performed it to great results. Gregor doubted it would be spinners attacking them, but if Mareth thought it was important, he would try it.

"Luxa and Aurora, can you demonstrate?" Mareth asked them.

"Yes." They both replied. They flew down lower and got into position. Luxa held her sword above her and Aurora span in full circles up, at a dizzying rate. Gregor had no clue how he would be able to do that; it was harder then the axle dive he and Hera had mastered four months previous!

"Okay, who would like to go next? Howard, Nike, how about you?" Mareth asked. Howard and Nike nodded. They flew down and tried, but it didn't go great. Howard sword tilted, almost cutting Nike. He apologized, but by then, they had already stopped the move. They tried a few more times, but just couldn't get it. Then Gregor and Hera got into position to try.

They did okay, but Hera occasionally span off-course and Gregor almost fell off. Hard as they tried, they too couldn't master it, so Mareth said they would practice it later.

They moved onto attack positions that they had practiced many times before, for gnawers. The three pairs got these perfectly, with no trouble at all. Gregor and Hera flew well together, as usual.

Their group finished before Lizzie and Hazard's, so they watched them. Gregor clapped as Lizzie held on as Daedalus did a full body roll. Lizzie gave him a smile, and then went back to her training.

After a while, Lizzie and Hazard finished and they all flew up to the palace together. When they landed in the High Hall, Lizzie and Hazard went to find Boots, and Gregor, Luxa, Howard, and the bats went into the council room to discuss the quest.

They all took seats with their species. Hera, Nike, Aurora, Apollo, and Daedalus flew over to the bats, Euripedes, Queen Athena, Nyx, and a pretty tan bat that Gregor was sure he had seen before.

"Luxa, do you know that bat?" he went to ask her, but her head was turned the opposite way, looking at the rest of the humans. "Luxa, who're you…" but he followed her gaze and saw who she was looking at. Kendra, her obnoxious "friend" was sitting with Vikus, talking to him. He remembered now, that was Leda, Kendra's bond. Gregor didn't want to admit it, but Kendra looked nice. Her silvery-blonde hair was straight and sleek, and her deep violet eyes, so dark that they looked almost black, were sparkling. But he already hated the girl, so he didn't think she looked to wonderful.

"Why is _she _here?" Gregor asked harshly, not really to anyone in particular.

"I do not know!" Luxa answered hotly.

Vikus stopped talking to Kendra and called everyone to attention. "As you know, we are here to discuss the quest described in the Prophecy of Bone. We have made a list of those going." He gestured to an Underlander woman in the council. She stood up and read off Gregor, Luxa, Howard, Hera, Aurora, Nike, Lizzie, Boots, Temp, Hazard, Apollo, Daedalus, Nyx, Ripred, Clipclaw, and with a jolt for Gregor, Kendra and Leda. Luxa immediately stood up, and all heads turned her way.

Why is Kendra coming? What good will she do for us all, besides insulting us?" she cried. Kendra stood up with such force that she nearly knocked the Underlander woman next to her over.

"I have specific reasons for being invited, Luxa!" She cried. At this point, Gregor saw both Leda and Aurora looking at each other hotly, both ready to take flight to defend their bonds.

"For shame, Luxa! She is your friend!" Vikus scolded Luxa.

"Oh, I think _friend_ would be an exaggeration, Vikus! She insulted me at my own party, and interrupted Gregor and I when we were…were…um, eating." Luxa finished lamely, looking a tad embarrassed. Gregor slid down in his seat, and Kendra looked like she was going to burst out laughing. Gregor could tell Vikus knew what Luxa meant, and he had a twinkle in his eye.

"Luxa, she and her bond, Leda, are highly skilled in acrobatic fighting, as are you and Aurora, and both pairs fighting together will be highly sufficient." Vikus spoke calmly. Luxa and Kendra gave one last glare at each other, as did Aurora and Leda, and sat back down.

"Anyway, we have much more to discuss than who will be going." Vikus continued, and went on discussing the quest.


	10. Meeting

Chapter 10

"As we know, the quest says that the bone of the Bane is to be retrieved. We do not know if this is a metaphorical bone, or a real bone." Vikus said.

"It is a real bone." Luxa said. Everyone looked at her.

"How do you know this, Luxa?" Vikus asked quizzically.

"Nerissa told me. She had had a vision of the prophecy and it's meaning, before she…" Luxa's voice trailed off, and her hand went over her eyes. Vikus too looked upset.

"Well, if Nerissa envisioned it, it is true." He said, regaining control of himself. None of the council objected; they knew how much Nerissa's family had respected her visions.

Gregor thought about the whole "bone" thing. Eww. What was he supposed to do, cut open the Bane's body and take his bone? What good would that do? He had a feeling it was more complicated than that. Too bad Nerissa wasn't around anymore, she would have been a big help.

To his great surprise, Gregor found his eyes tearing at the thought of Nerissa. She had always been a big help on the prophecies. Not to mention the fact that he owed his life to her, for figuring the true meaning if the Prophecy of Bane. Her life hadn't exactly been a walk in the park.

Gregor quickly wiped his eyes and looked up. Everyone was staring at him, as if they were expecting him to say something. "Sorry, what?" he asked.

"Overlander, Vikus has just asked you if you agree with the real bone theory." Spoke the soft, regal purr of Queen Athena.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, I agree." Gregor said quickly. Gregor saw Luxa suppress a smile in the seat beside him. As soon as everyone looked away, he gave her a shove. She turned to him and gave a mischievous smile and shoved him back. Gregor caught Kendra watching them with that same look she had had when they were dancing at Luxa's party.

"Now, we must move on to the path that will be taken to the Plain of Tartarus." Vikus spoke again. "There are quicker routes than the one we have decided, but we have chosen to take the one less traveled. We will be taking the Path of Hephaestus."

"What?" Luxa rose to her feet with an angry look on her face. "But that is perhaps as dangerous as traveling Hades Hall!" Gregor remembered Hades Hall. It hadn't been a great trip. But why would Vikus choose one that was worse?

"Luxa, we have no idea what will be waiting to ambush you in the paths others expect us to follow. There is much less chance of arousing battle in Hephaestus." Vikus said calmly.

"That is because it is too dangerous! It is not the creatures that cause the danger, as you very well know, Vikus!" Luxa argued.

"Luxa, it has been decided. If you choose not to go, then fine. You may leave this meeting." Vikus replied. Luxa sat down, swearing under her breath. Gregor really wanted to know what was so dangerous about that path.

"Okay, as we have covered the basic points, you are all dismissed." Vikus said, and everyone left. Gregor, Luxa, Hera, and Aurora all stayed behind.

"Luxa, why is the path of Heph—whatever, so dangerous?" Gregor asked Luxa.

"It runs through the Firelands, and we all know how foul the air is there. Not to mention the Queen." Luxa said. When Luxa said "the Queen", Gregor knew she meant the largest and most terrible volcano in the Firelands. They had been unfortunate enough to be in one of her eruptions.

"And the rock is very unstable. Bits and pieces of the rock in the tunnel fall all the time, and one would be afraid the entire tunnel would cave in." Luxa continued. "Not to mention that it takes about five days to travel at a safe enough pace." She added as an afterthought. "It is not a path I would choose to travel…if given the choice."

"Yes, the fliers did not name it for its good points." Aurora shuddered.

"Why? Who's Hephes—whoever?" Gregor asked.

"Hephaestus. He was an Overlander god of fire, who was particularly weak at the legs." Hera answered. She, too, didn't look happy about having to travel that path.

"Well, Vikus must have a good reason for choosing it, right?" Gregor asked. The other three exchanged a look. "What?"

"Well, Gregor, what you must understand is…Vikus is not as young as he used to be." Aurora began.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Gregor demanded answers. Hera spoke now.

"The point is, since his stroke, he has not been…as…well, let us say he hasn't been thinking things through as thoroughly as he has before." She said. Gregor was still confused.

"So you're saying he had no clue what he was doing when he picked our route?" he asked.

"Well, not exactly. He knew what he was doing, but as half of his mind has shut down, he did not think it through and notice the dangers, only the positives. And the problem is, I do not think we can get him to change his…er…half-mind." Hera tried to explain.

"I am still going to try." Luxa said hotly, and stalked out. Aurora gave a shrug and flew after her. Hera and Gregor shared a look, and then followed.

Aurora, Hera, and Gregor waited outside of Vikus's room while Luxa argued with him. They could here Luxa's angry protests and Vikus's calm denies. It was not until Luxa threatened to make not traveling the Path of Hephaestus a city law that Vikus raised his voice.

"You are not of age to make laws yet, Luxa! It has been decided, now kindly leave!" He snapped. This was the first time Gregor had heard Vikus snap at Luxa before. Luxa came storming out of the room a second later, arms crossed and a hard, blazing, angry look on her face. She marched right past all of them without looking their way, and Aurora quickly fluttered after her. Luxa got onto her back and they both flew quickly away.

"I do not think we should follow this time." Hera said.

"Yeah, let's not." Gregor agreed. The pair flew the other way.

They decided to go to the nursery and see what Lizzie and Boots were up too. When they got there, however, Boots was the only one they found.

"Gregor! Hera! You here!" she cried. Gregor lifter her up and swung her around. Hera laughed.

"Hey, Boots! Where's Lizzie?" he asked her.

"Lizzie went with Dae-Dae!" Boots cried. Gregor took "Dae-Dae" to mean Daedalus.

"So what've you been doing, Boots?" He asked her.

"Me and Dul-cee were playing ABC game!" Boots cried. She wiggled out of Gregor's arms and pulled Dulcet over to them.

"Hey, Dulcet." Gregor greeted her.

"Greetings, Overlander." Dulcet nodded.

"Dul-cee, we show Gregor ABC game!" Boots cried. They started the ABC game.

Apparently the game was like some type of alphabet charades. Dulcet would say a letter, and Boots would pretend to be something that starts with that letter. Dulcet said B, and Boots flapped her arms and ran around.

"Hmm, would you be a…bird?" Dulcet guessed. Gregor didn't know how she knew what a bird was, but then he remembered that Boots had brought her ABC book down to the Underland, and she had probably shown it to Dulcet.

"No, I'm a bat!" Boots cried. Dulcet laughed.

"Yes, Boots, you look just like a flier." She said.

After a while, Gregor and Hera said goodbye and left. But they hadn't gone very far when a clearly worried and upset Aurora flew up to them.

"Come, Luxa is really unwell! I do not know what happened, I just…" Aurora didn't have time to finish the sentence; Gregor was already running down the hallway to Luxa's room. He expected to find her moaning and lying down.

Instead he found her being violently sick in her private bathroom.


	11. Poison and attacks

Chapter 11

"Luxa!" Gregor cried. He rushed over to her side and held her hair back for her. When she finished, he pressed a small stone cup up to her mouth, and she gratefully drank. Then she dropped the cup and collapsed into Gregor's arms.

The bats stood at the door, watching worriedly. Gregor heaved Luxa, who was only half-conscious, into her bedroom and laid her on the bed. She was paler than usual, and her lips were tinged purple. She mouthed something, but Gregor didn't understand.

"Aurora, what happened to her?" Gregor asked the bat.

"I do not know! We were just eating our food, and Luxa drank some water, and she just…ran to the bathroom, and I found her like that!" Aurora buried her face in her wings. Hera fluttered to Gregor's side to get a better look at Luxa. Gregor looked closer, too. Then something clicked.

"Aurora, what did she drink?" Gregor asked the bat. Aurora removed her head from her wings just long enough to answer.

"Just water, I believe! It spilled, over there!" Aurora pointed her wing behind a chair, and then buried her face again. Gregor ran over to the chair and saw another stone cup tipped over, with some liquid pouring out.

Gregor's first thought was that it wasn't water. Well, actually, he wasn't totally sure. It was tinted a greenish color, but only slightly. Gregor really needed his dad, who had been a chemistry teacher, and would most likely be able to identify the liquid.

But this liquid was triggering a strange memory for Gregor. He was remembering, almost a year ago, when he was in the Underland jungle. He stuck his finger in a cool stream, and some carnivorous fish went to bite it, but he pulled it out.

"What was that?" he had asked Ripred.

"Something that thinks you're yummy." Ripred had answered.

"Is that why we can't drink from it? It's too dangerous to get water?" Gregor had asked again.

"No, the water's tainted. Drink it and you die." Ripred had answered.

Then the memory stopped. Suddenly, Gregor knew why he had had the memory. Somebody had taken water from the tainted streams, and gave it to Luxa! Not enough to kill her, but enough to make her badly sick.

Gregor looked again at the liquid. Yes, this looked just like the stream water. But who had wanted to kill Luxa?

Not knowing what he was doing, Gregor looked at the cup again. There was something strange; on the side of a cup there was a mark, kind of like a bone. Suddenly he heard a sharp intake of breath behind him. Hera was looking at the mark, too.

"Gregor, that is a Mark of Secret!" Hera said. Gregor's head snapped up. He knew about the Marks of Secret; they had seen the scythe during his fourth visit. The marks didn't usually bring good things.

"What does it mean?" Gregor asked his bat.

"That is the bone; it symbolizes disease!" Hera said. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as death, but it wasn't great. So the person who did it hadn't wanted to kill Luxa, they had just wanted to make her really sick…possibly, to prevent her from going on the quest?

Gregor jumped up. "We have to get her to the hospital. Aurora, you remember the tainted water from those jungle streams?" Aurora nodded. "That's what she drank." Gregor continued. Aurora looked horrified.

"Oh, it is my entire fault! I should have noticed that mark on the side of the cup, or else drank it before her, or…or…" Aurora gave a heartbreaking cry.

"It's not your fault, Aurora." Gregor told her. Hera, Gregor, and Aurora helped get Luxa positioned on Aurora's back. When she was on, Gregor jumped onto Hera, and they flew down to the hospital as quick as the bats could go.

"Gregor!" Howard ran up to them. "What is…Oh, what has happened to Luxa?" Howard cried, seeing Luxa pale and unconscious on Aurora's back.

"I'll tell you after, just help me get her to a bed!" Gregor answered. Howard lifted Luxa off Aurora's back and carried her to the nearest empty room. He signaled a couple of doctors and then waited for Gregor to tell him what happened.

"Hera and I were visiting Boots in the nursery, and then Aurora came and told us something was wrong with Luxa. We found her throwing up like crazy, and then she passed out or something. Howard, she drank from tainted water from the jungle, and the cup had a Mark of Secret on it!" Gregor panted. "Someone put tainted water into her drink!"

"A mark of secret? Which one?" Howard asked.

"The bone, you know, disease." Gregor said. Howard let out a sigh of relief, and Gregor knew why. Howard had been afraid it had been the scythe; the mark of death.

"Well, at least it is not death." Howard said, confirming Gregor's thoughts. He rummaged through a stone shelf until he found what he was looking for, a small green bottle.

"I hope this works; it is an antidote for most common Underland poisons, although I am not sure that this fits the description." Howard said. He tipped the bottle's contents into Luxa's mouth and held her head up so she could swallow. She immediately began coughing, and Gregor was afraid she would get sick again, but she eventually stopped.

"Oh, is she okay?" a voice asked from the doorway. Aurora was there. She rushed over to her bond and wrapped her in her wings. Gregor decided it was time to leave, so he went out. Hera had left, but Gregor didn't mind.

He walked out of the hospital and down the hall. He didn't really know where he was going, just…walking.

"Gregor!" A voice cried. Gregor turned around. Clipclaw, the nice rat who had helped Gregor during the prophecy of Light, was coming toward him. She was about full-grown now, about five and a half feet.

"Hi, Clipclaw." Gregor greeted the rat. Then he realized she looked upset and worried. "What's wrong?"

"Gregor, your sister Lizzie told me to tell you to go to the far end of the hospital at once! Something's happened!" Clipclaw cried. Gregor didn't need telling twice. He ran down the stairs again, thinking that if something had happened to Lizzie it would be all his fault, because he hadn't been watching her.

He got down and saw not Lizzie in the hospital bed, but Daedalus, with his wing bent at an awkward angle and blood gushing from a slash on it. Lizzie was crying over him.

"Liz! What happened?" Gregor asked, rushing over to hug her.

"I don't—know! Hazard and I were playing—with Boots—a few minutes ago—and they called us to the—hospital, and Daedalus—and Apollo—were attacked, or something!" Lizzie wailed. Gregor looked to the side and saw Apollo in another bed, blood running from numerous cuts all over his light-brown body. Hazard was there too, looking shocked, but not really crying.

"Gregor!" Vikus's voice came from the doorway. Gregor turned. "We do not know what happened to them, a scout has fount them in the tunnels off Regalia! Do you have any idea what has happened?" he asked.

"No!" Gregor answered. Okay, this was weird. Someone had poisoned Luxa and attacked Apollo and Daedalus, all of whom were supposed to be going on the quest. Were these attacks related?

Three days later, Apollo and Luxa were making full recoveries, but Daedalus had taken a turn for the worse. His wing cut was infected, and his dislocation was painful. Vikus had told Gregor that he would be unable to come on the quest, and Gregor had to break it to Lizzie.

Gregor found Lizzie in Luxa's chambers, watching the fireplace and crying. She looked up when he came in.

"Gregor, will Daedalus be okay?" she asked.

Gregor sighed. "Yeah, Lizzie, he'll be okay, it's just…he won't be able to come on the quest."

Lizzie gasped. "But he's my bond! I can't leave him!" she cried.

"You're going to have to, Liz." Gregor said softly. Lizzie jumped up.

"No! Then I'm not going!" Lizzie cried.

Gregor tried to reason with Lizzie, but she wouldn't budge. He just let her be.

The next day, Gregor met Vikus in the hall. He looked tired.

"Gregor, you must ready yourself. You must leave for the quest immediately."


	12. Starting the quest

Okay, I'm really sorry it took so long; I was away for a week. Here's chap12!

Chapter 12

"Right away? Why?" Gregor asked, surprised.

"Luxa and Apollo are finally well enough to travel, and you must leave, for we fear another attack may come, perhaps even on someone as essential to the quest as you. Be in the High Hall in fifteen minutes."Vikus replied grimly.

"Okay." Gregor answered, and walked away.

He first stopped at the armory to get a sword. No sword had felt as right as the one he had inherited from Sandwich, but as he couldn't have that one, he had to settle for different.

He then went to the museum to get his basic trip supplies. He had brought a backpack with him, not wanting to use the drawstring pink one he had had to last time.

He chose a bunch of flashlights and batteries as well. He grabbed a roll of duct tape and stuffed it in the backpack along with a pair of binoculars he just thought as a good thing to bring. He also grabbed a pair of Hard Hats he found.

But the best thing he found came after he moved aside a bicycle wheel and a baseball cap in the back of the museum. A magnificent sword, with emeralds gleaming in the hilt, was lying inside an opened, long, thin box.

"Whoa!" Gregor exclaimed. He picked up the sword. It felt good to hold, almost as good as Sandwich's had. But where had it come from?

Gregor had no time to dwell on this thought, for his fifteen minutes was up. He put down the other sword and picked up the emerald one and stuck it in his belt. He rushed to the High Hall and found the whole group, Hera, Luxa, Howard, Aurora, Nike, Apollo, Hazard, Temp, Boots, Ripred, Nyx, Clipclaw, Kendra, and Leda, already there. Luxa rushed up to him.

"Gregor! There you are! We must—what is _that_?" Luxa gaped at the sword in his belt.

"I don't know, I found it." Gregor shrugged. He looked closer at Luxa. Her face was terribly pale, and her hair was sweaty and stringy. Gregor always thought she looked pretty, but he hated seeing her sick like this.

Luxa still stared, open mouthed, at the magnificent sword until Vikus ushered her onto Aurora.

"You must be getting along." He said.

The seating arrangements were pretty simple. Gregor was on Hera with Boots and Temp, Luxa was on Aurora with Hazard, Howard was on Nike, Kendra was on Leda, and, to Gregor's surprise, Ripred was on Apollo and Clipclaw on Nyx. The rats usually ran, why were they flying now? Gregor asked Ripred about it.

"We managed to convince Vikus that it was for Clipclaw, because she's still young, but you know she could easily keep up, she's fast. But the real reason is the path of Hephaestus, I assume my royal bond told you?" he answered in a hush. Luxa and Ripred had bonded during the war of Time, first ever human/rat bond.

"Oh, yeah." Gregor nodded. He jumped onto Hera and pulled Boots up onto her neck in front of him. Temp scurried on behind them, as he always did.

"This is just like old times." Gregor thought to himself, but then with a jolt he remembered that he was sitting on Hera, not Ares.

As soon as every one was on, Vikus waved them off with his good hand.

Hera flew along with Aurora, so Hazard and Boots could play and talk. They sang the ABC song, Row Row Row Your Boat, Patty Cake, Bat, Bat, and a bunch of other songs until Ripred told them to shut up.

"Can you keep those pups down? Some of us are resting for the trip we have ahead!" he snapped. Boots gave a little cry and buried her face in Gregor's lap. Gregor scowled at Ripred.

"They have to do _something _to entertain themselves!" he told the rat.

"I don't care. Do something else, then!" Ripred snapped back.

But it turns out, they didn't need to. In a few minutes, Boots and Hazard were both asleep in Gregor and Luxa's laps.

The whole group was flying together, with the exception of Kendra and Leda, who were flying ahead and doing complicated flips, spins, and stuff. Leda was a very acrobatic flier.

"What did I tell you?" Hera muttered to him. Gregor nodded.

They flew down one of the tunnels leaving Regalia, but turned a different way. It became too small for the bats to fly alongside each other, so they had to go single file. Luxa wanted to fly at the front of the line, and naturally, so did Kendra.

"Get out of the way, Luxa! We are here!" Kendra snapped as Luxa and Aurora tried to cut in front of her and Leda.

"I am queen; I get to fly—first!" Luxa finished with an almighty shove, and Kendra and Leda spun off-course and Luxa and Aurora took the lead.

In about five hours, the tunnel widened into a cavern large enough to sleep in, and the bats were pretty tired. They stopped to sleep for a few hours. Howard volunteered to watch, and so did Clipclaw, so everyone else got to sleep.

Gregor and Luxa pulled four blankets out of their packs and made up beds off to the side for themselves, Boots, and Hazard. Hera and Aurora settled themselves near their bonds. Kendra and Leda settled themselves as far as possible away. Gregor meant to talk to Luxa, but he fell asleep right away.

Gregor awoke unpleasantly to a large slapping against his back.

"Ouch, who's doing that?" he muttered, lifting his head up. Ripred had been slapping his tail on Gregor's back.

"We tried to wake you gently, but you stayed asleep, so this is the consequence!" Ripred snapped, slapping his tail on the cave floor for emphasis.

"Okay, Okay, I'm up, I'm up!" Gregor said.

Howard was rummaging in the food baskets on Nike's back. He pulled out a loaf of bread, some cheese, and a cake. Everyone ate heartily. They got water from a nearby stream(they were saving the water bags on Nyx's back for when they couldn't find streams) and were off again.

This time, after only an hour, they stopped. There was a tunnel leading off of a cavern. It was pretty wide. It had some stones littered on the ground, and looked very unstable. As they stood there, a few stones fell from the ceiling.

"Well, here it is." Luxa said.

"The path of Hephaestus." Howard said.

"One very unstable." Nike gulped.

"We must take it." Aurora shivered.

"Well, let us go." Hera said.

Gregor did not like Vikus at that moment. This path looked horrible, why had he chosen it?

Then he remembered the Hard hats in his backpack. He quickly took them out and put one on Boots.

"Gregor, I look funny!" she giggled. Gregor gave the other one to Luxa, to put on Hazard.

"It'll protect him from those falling pebbles." He told her. She nodded and fastened it on Hazard's head.

Gregor looked at the path again. He gripped the hilt of the emerald sword in his belt, out of instinct, because he knew it couldn't help him much in here.

Ripred ushered them all forwards and they set off down the path.


	13. Chaos on the Path

Chapter 13

They were all soon covered in dust falling from the ceiling. Hera's white and gold fur was gray, and Howard, trying to make everyone more cheerful, joked that she would be mistaken for Euripedes, Vikus's big gray bat.

Gregor coughed some dust up and rubbed his head where a falling pebble had hit. Boots was okay, she had the hat. Gregor wasn't sure about Temp, though.

"Hey Temp, you okay?" Gregor asked the roach.

"Fine, I am, fine." Temp answered, but Gregor could see that he wasn't.

"Here, put this over your head." Gregor said. He took one of the blankets and folded it up a few times and duct-taped it to Temp's head.

"You, I thank, thank you." Temp said.

"Everyone, fly nearer to the walls and stay close, there is less chance of big rock falling onto you!" Kendra said.

"You do not give orders here!" Luxa said hotly. Kendra just glared at her and turned the other way.

They had been flying the path for around two hours. Gregor was covered in dust, as was the rest of his party. He was just about to wrap a blanket around Boots so she could have a dust-less nap, when he heard a sound that made his heart drop.

A low, loud rumbling was coming from the cave walls and ceiling.

"The roof! The roof is caving in!" Gregor shouted. But the others already knew.

"Hurry! Fly!" Came Ripred's command. As rocks tumbled from the ceiling, the bats flew as fast as their wings could possibly carry them.

Gregor was trying to keep Boots on while Hera swerved madly, avoiding falling rocks. Temp was clinging onto the bat for dear life. The rocks falling were getting bigger and bigger, and Gregor was afraid they would turn into boulders.

"We cannot fly any longer! We must land!" Luxa cried from atop Aurora. She was holding tightly to Hazard.

"Okay, land off to the side! The falling rocks aren't as big!" Ripred called. All six fliers landed.

"Quick, under my wings!" Hera said.

"No! Then you'll get hurt!" Gregor said.

"I am fine! I need to protect you!" Hera replied. She forced Gregor under her wings with Temp and Boots. But Gregor wasn't going to let that happen.

He fought Hera's wing to get out and help her, but she was a strong bat, and she held him in. He could see rocks falling on her now totally gray head, and he saw her wince with each one.

"No—Hera—let me—help—you!" He said as he pushed against her wing, but she kept fighting.

"You—are—more—important!" She said, while trying to block him.

"No—I'm—not! You're gonna—get—hurt!" he pushed again.

"I—am—fine!" she kept blocking him.

"At least let me—look out!" Gregor said.

"Fine!" She lowered her wing a bit so he could look out over them. He saw Howard, unsuccessfully trying to whack the rocks away from Nike with another rock, Ripred, protecting a scared Clipclaw, Nyx and Apollo, huddled together with their heads down, Kendra and Leda, still flying, but hovering and dodging the rocks, and Hazard and Aurora, both standing off to the side. Aurora had one wing over Hazard's head, and the other was beckoning to someone. But where was Luxa?

He spotted her about a hundred yards away. She had apparently fallen off Aurora. She was running toward them, madly dodging rocks as she ran. Gregor's first thought was that he had to help her.

He ducked under Hera's outstretched wing before she could do anything, and called back, "keep Boots safe!" to her. He ran toward Luxa, dodging rocks.

"Gregor! Help!" Luxa begged. A wall of rock was building up in front of her. Gregor ran even faster toward her.

"Luxa!" he cried. He dodged a particularly big rock that probably would have crushed him if he hadn't moved. He got slammed against the wall avoiding a falling boulder.

He pushed through the wall of rock building up in front of Luxa and ran to her. When he reached her, he grabbed her hand and they ran together, back to the others.

For a second, Gregor thought they would actually make it back without getting hurt, but then Luxa tripped. She fell face first onto the ground. She rolled over onto her back and was about to get quickly back up when Gregor saw a big rock falling straight toward her leg.

"No!" Gregor cried, but it was too late. The rock fell right onto her ankle and Gregor heard a nasty crack as the ankle broke.

Luxa gave a pitiful cry of pain and clutched her ankle, but they were in more danger. A wall of rock was building up, separating them from the others. They could waste no time.

Gregor scooped Luxa up and ran with her in his arms. She was pretty heavy. Luxa gave a moan and held her ankle while Gregor ran and dodged rocks with her in his arms.

Gregor saw Howard running towards them. He sighed with relief. Howard was much bigger and stronger then Gregor; he would be able to carry Luxa with no trouble at all.

"Gregor! What happened?" Howard cried when he reached them.

"Her ankle! It's broken!" Gregor cried back. Howard took Luxa from his arms and carried her back while Gregor ran alongside them.

Apparently they had found some sort of cave. Howard ran into a crevice in the wall and they found themselves in the shelter of a small cave. Hera and Aurora had been worried about their bonds, Gregor could tell. Aurora fluttered up to Luxa, who was clutching her ankle in pain. Howard ran for the first aid kit.

"Gregor, your pack! It has the first aid kit!" Howard cried.

"Oh yeah. Where is it?" Gregor asked.

"You left it outside the cave! I will get it if you want, but I need to watch Luxa." He said.

"No, I'll get it!" Gregor cried, over the thundering of the falling rocks. He went outside the cave. Luckily, the bag was right outside, so he didn't have to go far into the mass of thundering rock.

He grabbed the pack and was about to go in when a fairly large rock hit him on the head. He saw stars and heard the thunderous sound as the whole tunnel came in. Then he was knocked out.


	14. Unexpected kiss

Chapter 14

"Has he awakened yet?"

"No, he is still out cold."

"Howard, are you sure he's not…"

"No, he has a pulse."

Gregor heard these voices beside him, but he didn't want to open his eyes. Not just yet. His eyelids were really heavy, and his head hurt _really badly_.

"Gregor, wake up!"

"Shhh, Boots."

"Gregor not…Gregor is _dead_?"

That did it. Gregor opened his eyes, not wanting Boots to think he was dead.

"I'm okay, Boots." He told her.

"Gregor! How is your head?" Howard asked.

"It's….it hurts." He answered truthfully. His head was throbbing. Gregor felt his head and found a gigantic bump where the rock had hit. When he pulled his hand away it was all bloody. He took a mirror out of his band and saw a gruesome slit in his head. He had to resist the impulse to be sick. He just gagged.

"Do you want me to stitch and bandage that for you?" Howard asked him.

"Yeah, thanks." Gregor answered. Howard took out a needle and stitched up Gregor's wound. It hurt _a lot_, but Gregor gritted his teeth to keep from screaming.

When he finished, Howard got out a pack of bandages and wrapped some around Gregor's head. It was then that Gregor remembered that Luxa had been hurt too. He saw her sitting in a corner, her ankle bandaged and her sandal off.

"Luxa, are you okay?" He asked her.

"I am fine. Just a bit of painkiller and I cannot feel it. It is you we are worried about." She answered, limping over to him.

Gregor surveyed everyone else. All of the bats, Hera, Aurora, Nike, Apollo, Nyx, and Leda were all badly bruised. Kendra, Howard, Hazard and Boots seemed unharmed. Clipclaw was okay, but Ripred was as bruised as the bats.

"So what happened to the path?" Gregor asked.

"See for yourself." Howard answered, gesturing out of the cave. Gregor got up and walked over there.

Gregor coughed as a huge cloud of dust greeted him. When it cleared, he saw that the whole tunnel had caved in and there were rocks everywhere. How were they going to get out now?

Howard had the answer. "Look, Gregor. We can take the alternate path. See there." He pointed to the back of the cave, and Gregor saw another crevice that he hadn't noticed before.

"Great, so when are we leaving?" he asked.

"As soon as the fliers are not too sore to travel." Howard answered.

Boots and Hazard began to play the ABC charades game. Good, at least they were keeping busy. Gregor wondered how Lizzie was doing back in Regalia.

Howard went to inspect Luxa's ankle. Gregor was left sitting alone at the end of the cave. To his surprise, Kendra came up to him.

"Oh, Gregor, I am _so glad _you are okay." She said, batting her eyelashes. Gregor was really confused. What did _she _care what happened to him?

"Uhhh…" he said stupidly.

"Luxa does not care though. Truthfully, she would have rather had you dead." Kendra said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Gregor choked. That couldn't be true!

"That is right. She thinks, and so does everyone else, that you are too much of a distraction to her royal duties." Kendra nodded.

Gregor just stared at her, dumbfounded.

"_I_ don't think that. I care a great deal about you, unlike her." She continued.

"But I—but she—but you—huh?" he stuttered.

"That's right, I do." And with that, she pulled his head toward her and kissed him. He tried to pull away, but she held onto him. It was more involved than any kiss between him and Luxa, and he didn't like it.

When he was finally able to pull away, he saw everyone staring at them, dumbfounded. But Luxa looked angry.

"How—could—you?" she fumed at Gregor.

"I…" Gregor began, but before he could finish, Luxa stomped over to Aurora and buried her face in the bat's golden fur. Gregor turned to Kendra. She was smiling mischievously.

"You—you—No!" Gregor stuttered at her. She just smiled even wider.

"I told you." she said, and went to sit by Leda. Hera fluttered up to Gregor.

"You did not kiss her, right?" she asked him.

"I didn't." Gregor answered.

"She kissed you?" Hera asked again.

"Yeah." Gregor said, relieved that she understood.

"I will go talk to Luxa." Hera said. Before she went Gregor hugged her. What would he do without Hera? 

Hera went over to Luxa and Aurora. Gregor saw her trying to reason with Luxa, but she just shook her head. Aurora tried to help Hera, but Luxa just would not listen to any reasoning. Finally, Hera fluttered back over to Gregor.

"I am sorry." She said. Gregor pulled out a blanket and spread it on the floor, in front of Hera. He fell into a rough sleep with Hera standing over him.

He had a strange dream. He dreamt that Luxa and Kendra were war fighting over him, and then he changed into a hideous monster and neither of them wanted him. Still in his monster form, he went over to Luxa and tried to talk to her, but she just looked at him like he had five heads, (which he did) and pushed him away. Suddenly, the floor fell away and he was falling, falling, falling! He screamed for Hera and saw her diving for him, but then she dissolved in the air! He was about to hit the bottom when…

"Gregor! Gregor!" someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes and saw Howard standing over him. He realized that he was tangled in his blankets.

"Gregor, what is going on?" Howard asked.

"Um, nothing. Just…just had a dream." Gregor answered.

"Well, we must be going. The bats say that they are well enough to fly, and we need to head out as quick as possible." Howard said.

"Okay, let's go." Gregor nodded.

Within ten minutes everyone was through the crevice in the wall and on the bats. Gregor had Boots on Hera's neck and he was sitting behind her, with Temp behind him. Hera took off, and they set off down this unfamiliar path.


	15. Forgiveness

Chapter 15

Gregor was not feeling good. In fact, he was feeling as bad as he had when he had come back from the Plain of Tartarus just after killing the Bane. For one thing, his head was throbbing worse than ever. For another, he was sweating, although nobody else seemed to be. His throat was raspy with the dust from this tunnel. And then, he felt horrible because of how he had hurt Luxa.

He hadn't meant to let Kendra kiss him, and he knew that, but he still couldn't help feeling that it was his fault. Se wouldn't speak to anyone, and rarely left Aurora's side. He wanted desperately to talk to her, but he didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, his head burst open with pain! All he could see was a blinding white light, and all he could feel was intense pain; worse than any he had ever experienced.

"Hera,—pull—over!" he squeaked out. She looked back at him with a shriek and landed off to the side. Gregor slid off of her, still clutching his head, and threw up.

He vomited and vomited; it was like the pain was controlling him, it wouldn't let him stop!

"AARGHHH!" he cried, and slid to the floor in pain.

"GREGOR!" he head someone cry, but through this blinding pain he had no idea who it was.

Someone was screaming, at the top of their lungs.

"Hush, Luxa!" someone said.

"Howard, help him!" the screamer cried, sobbing.

"Whoa, what's going on?" someone else came in.

"What has happened to him?" another.

Suddenly, Gregor blacked out. It was just too much.

He awoke a long time later. His head felt relatively less painful, but it still throbbed. He heard someone crying. He lifted his eyelids slightly.

He was still in the same place, although someone else was holding him. He was cradled in Hera's wings, and she too was crying, but silent tears, not the loud sobs coming from someone else.

"What shall we do with him?" someone, it sounded like Ripred, asked.

"Let us find a small cavern; he can be put to rest there."

"Okay. Oh, stop your crying, Luxa. At least he's out of his misery." Ripred said.

But the crier, who was apparently Luxa, didn't stop. "No! No!" She cried.

"Luxa, he is dead." Someone said to her gently.

"No, I'm not." Gregor sat up quickly. Suddenly someone tore him out of Hera's wings. Luxa embraced him so strongly; he could feel her tears on his skin. She kissed him, like she would never pull away.

"I am so sorry; I should have known you would not do that to me." She whispered, still about a millimeter away from his face. Gregor didn't have to ask what she meant. He boldly kissed the tears off her eyelashes.

"It's my fault; I should have talked to you when I had the chance." Gregor said.

"We thought you dead." Luxa whispered again. "You certainly looked it. What happened?"

"I don't know. My head just hurt really bad." He shrugged, still holding onto her.

"Is it better now?" she asked, kissing him again.

"Yeah, sort of." He answered.

After what seemed like a century, they separated. Gregor saw Kendra staring at them, looking surprised and angry at the same time. Howard was looking upset, and everyone else surprised; well, maybe not so much Hera and Aurora, but everyone else. Wait, where was Ripred?

Gregor's question was answered when he felt a tail whack him in the back of the head. He swung around, facing Ripred.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked the rat.

"Focus!" Ripred snapped. "Okay, the Overlander's not dead, now we can continue. This is where the route gets perilous; we're just about in the firelands. We have to get going right away."

Everyone mounted their bats. Gregor pulled Boots up.

"Gregor, you kiss Luxa!" Boots laughed. Gregor chose to ignore this comment. Then he heard Howard ask Luxa something.

"Luxa, are you and Gregor going to marry?" he asked. Everyone except Howard, Gregor, and Luxa laughed. Luxa frowned at the boy.

"Hush, Hazard." She said. Hazard shut up.

They had been flying for around twenty minutes when Howard and Nike flew up next to Gregor and Hera.

Howard took a deep breath before speaking. "Gregor…I just want to let you know…that if you and Luxa want to be together…then you have my blessing." He said.

Gregor almost snorted. _His _blessing? But he just nodded, and Howard flew away.

Kendra and Leda were now trailing behind the group. They kept whispering to each other, and Gregor had a horrible feeling it was about him and Luxa. But he fought to keep his rager impulse down, because at the moment, he would have longed to punch Kendra.

The air became foul; they were now in the firelands. Below them was a floor of obsidian. Gregor wasn't positive, but using his echolocation, he guessed that they had passed the pit where Ripred had been imprisoned. The rat knew it too; Gregor saw him tighten his hold on Apollo's back.

"Near we, the currents, near we." came Temp's voice from behind Gregor. Gregor's stomach gave a jolt; he remembered the terrifying currents. Nike and Aurora remembered it too; they both gave pitiful cries of fear. Ripred, Gregor, Howard, Luxa, Hazard, Temp, and Boots had no fear of the currents, for they knew how to navigate them, but they feared for the bats. Hera, Nyx, Apollo, Leda, Kendra, and Clipclaw had absolutely no clue how strong they were.

"Stay near to the sides, and if any wind comes, into caves!" Luxa cried out. She had become less emotional then before, and was now back to her tough self. Gregor kind of liked it that way.

"Gregor, we fly? Luxa be bat again?" Boots looked up at him. Apparently she remembered the currents, and how she had sat on Luxa's back while Luxa had navigated the currents.

"Let's hope not." Gregor said to her. She looked up at him quizzically, but said no more. Instead, she waved to Hazard, who looked solemn, and Gregor thought he knew why. Thalia had been in these currents, when she was still alive.

Suddenly, a gust of air, not a large one, sent them all zooming into a nearby cave. Hera landed and Gregor dismounted.

"Gregor, why do we run from the currents? I know them, and they are not too strong." Hera asked him.

"Oh, believe me, Hera, they're strong." Gregor said, and he told her about the last time, and how Ares, Nike, Aurora, and Thalia had struggled. Hera's eyes widened and she wrapped her wings around herself, as if they would protect her from the currents.

Suddenly, a flash of black and red zoomed by the entrance to the cave. For a second, Gregor thought it was Nyx, but then he saw her fluttering up to the entrance of the cave. The black and red flash came again, but this time it stopped. It was a bat.

"Greetings, mother!" the bat said.

Nyx groaned. "Persephone," she moaned, burying her head in her wings.


	16. Understanding

Chapter 16

"No need to sound so happy to see me." Persephone said, hurt.

Nyx enveloped the little bat in her wings. "I am sorry, Persephone, but how did you get here? It is extremely dangerous!" She said.

"That…is a long story." Persephone said, eyes wide. Gregor could tell she was anxious to tell them.

"Well, tell us." Nyx said.

"Okay, well after you left, about three hours after, Vikus decided that he did not want you to take the Path of Hephaestus, so he needed someone to catch up with you and tell you." Persephone said.

"Finally, Vikus sees sense. But it is too late now." Luxa muttered, shaking her head.

"Wait, so he sent _you _to tell us?" Nike interrupted, astonished.

"Well…not exactly." Persephone said. Nyx groaned. "He chose Castor. I kind of…tagged along."

"And Castor let you?" asked Nyx, very surprised.

"Umm, he did not really know I was there. I followed at a distance. And then, we got to the entrance of the path, and castor saw me, and he was angry. Then, he told me to go back, but there was a rumbling and the roof started caving in!" Persephone said, with dramatic affect. The group shuddered, remembering that. "And Castor told me to go save myself, but I told him I would not go anywhere without him. Then…he got crushed. By a big rock. " Persephone said sadly. Gregor choked on the piece of bread he had just put in his mouth.

"You mean…Castor is _dead_?" Nyx gasped. Persephone nodded sadly. Nyx gave a sob. She had liked Castor.

"And I got knocked out. When I awoke, I was in some totally different cave, with…with…" Persephone stuttered, afraid to finish the sentence.

"With who, Persephone? Who?" Nyx asked.

"With dad." Persephone finished, staring blankly at the others.

There were gasps, and Gregor's jaw dropped. "You saw _Thor_?" he gaped at Persephone. She nodded.

"I did not really recognize him; he was covered in soot and ash. But then I saw his face, and of course, I can hardly forget my own father's face. Anyway, he introduced me to a couple of fliers." Persephone continued, recovering from her little dilemma. "Erebus, Uranus, and Luna."

"His brothers and sister." Nyx said knowingly. She was in a state of shock since Persephone had mentioned Thor.

"And dad said that them four were the leaders of an army of fliers he had put together, they call themselves the Terrorwings, and they are protecting something." Persephone said.

Gregor thought. "Protecting someth…" But before he could finish, he let out a gasp. "Oh, geez. Uh oh." He said.

"What is it, Gregor?" Luxa asked.

"They're protecting—they're protecting the bone, the Bane's bone!" Gregor said, leaping to his feet. He started pacing. "Don't you get it? That line, the first one of the repeating stanza…_Is life still there, or is death near?_ It's about the Terrorwings! They, as fliers, helped the humans keep their life, because of bonding and swearing to protect each other! Now, it could lead to death for the humans, because if they get more and more bats to join them, they can overthrow them! Death is near!" Now Hera gasped as well.

"Queen Athena…she leads an extremely powerful flier army! They could easily overthrow the humans if they tried!" she said. She and Gregor looked towards the others, waiting for approval, but none came.

"Well, Gregor, possibly you are correct about their guarding the bone, but the fliers would never turn on the humans! We have been bonded for centuries! I do not think that has anything to do with the line in the prophecy!" Luxa said, and moved toward Aurora, as if Gregor had insulted the bonding of the two.

"I don't know, your Highness. The Overlander is making perfect sense to me." Ripred said. "I think that you just don't want to admit that it is possible."

Luxa's nostrils flared, and she gave Ripred the angry look she saved specially for him. "You dare say that…" she said, but he interrupted her.

"Yes, I dare. Now look at it logically. Thor is against humans. He, of course, can get his own siblings to help him. Then…Nyx, am I right to assume that Thor has certain powers of persuasion?" he asked Nyx.

Nyx nodded. "He persuaded me to be his mate." She mumbled, staring out of the cave.

"Right. So if he's that good, he and his siblings can get others involved. So he must have found time to persuade some fliers to join him, and they have. It makes perfect sense." Ripred continued, staring at Luxa. Luxa crossed her arms in front of her.

"Oh, come on. Do you not think that Queen Athena would notice if a number of her fliers went missing?" she argued.

"Who says that she didn't notice? Maybe it just happened recently. Persephone only knows what's been going on in Regalia and the flier lands since…what, four days ago? I'm sure Thor could have done it secretly and quickly." Ripred said. This time it took a while for Luxa to speak.

"Fine, if you all want the fliers to attack us." She said, and she stomped over to a corner and sat facing the wall. Ripred smiled, and Gregor could tell he was suppressing a chuckle.

"Okay. So, what should we do?" Gregor asked. But everyone, even Ripred, was stumped.

"If only there was some way to contact Regalia." Nike sighed, looking off into space.

"Maybe there is." Said Ripred, and he looked purposefully toward Persephone. She shrugged.

Nyx sensed his meaning. "Oh no, no, Ripred. Persephone is not flying all the way to Regalia on her own. I will not allow it!" she said, shaking her head.

"But mother…" Persephone began, fluttering her wings, but Ripred interrupted.

"Well, fine. Then she won't go alone. Nyx, you know how important it is that we get word to Regalia." He looked at her.

"All right, fine! I will go with her! But who will carry Clipclaw?" Nyx asked, looking towards the rat, who was sitting in a corner, eating fish with Boots and Hazard. Boots, Hazard, and Clipclaw had been talking a lot lately…well, Hazard and Clipclaw had been talking, Boots had been interrupting.

"We're nearing the end of the path, so I can run. Apollo can carry Clipclaw." Ripred answered, looking towards the bat, who was off to the side. Apollo nodded.

"I can carry her." He said. Ripred nodded.

"Then it's settled. You will leave when we leave." He said to Nyx and Persephone.

Just then, Luxa got up from her corner and stomped over to them. "Wait a minute, do I not have a say in this?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"As a matter of fact, you do. You can say, 'okay, Ripred! I love that plan!'" Ripred answered her, with a smile. Luxa just glared at him and stomped back to her corner.

After everyone had eaten, they were ready to go. Everyone said goodbye to Nyx and Persephone, who went back down the path. The rest of them went forward the other way.

"They're fast, so they should be able to make the trip in two days. Then, if they really need to get a message back to us, they can take one of the shorter routes." Ripred estimated.

Luxa still wasn't happy about this, so she just sat angrily atop Aurora, not saying a word to anyone.


	17. The Terrorwings

Chapter 17

Thor was angry. Very angry. He had had Persephone in his clutches, had had the chance to win back his own daughter from that traitor Nyx, and she had slipped away!

Thor's sister Luna, a silvery bat with white ears, flew into Thor's cave. She settled herself on a perch in the corner, seeing that Thor was busy and not wanting to interrupt him.

"Horrible, selfish brat!" Thor roared, grabbing a rock in his claw and tossing it at the cave wall, so strongly that it cracked open.

"Yes, your daughter is very sneaky." Luna agreed, nodding.

"I was _talking _about Nyx!" Thor muttered.

"Oh, your mate?" Luna asked.

"_Do not _say that! She is not my mate and never will be my mate again!" Thor thundered, tossing another rock.

"But you admit that she was your mate?" Luna asked teasingly.

"Shut _up,_ Luna!" Thor shouted, aiming a rock at her, but she swiftly dodged it. She knew of Thor's anger issues.

"Relax, Thor." Luna purred, smirking. "I have come with news. Erebus and Uranus have managed to recruit two more fliers."

"Who?" Thor asked, looking at his sister, who had a smug smile on her face.

"Orion and Pan, both important generals in Queen Athena's army. It is one step closer to Queen Athena herself." Luna said smugly.

"Good. Where are Erebus and Uranus?" Thor asked.

"I will summon them." Luna said, and flew out. Thor returned to his rock tossing, still muttering about Nyx and Persephone.

Luna returned momentarily, and behind her was a gray bat with a black stripe straight across his face, Erebus, and a black bat with a white patch over its eye, Uranus. The four siblings gathered in the center of the cave.

"All right, we have the information we need. The Bane's decaying body still lies at the Plain of Tartarus. We will leave in a matter of hours. We must get there soon with the army before the Overlander and his group does."

"Right. And how big is the army?" Uranus asked.

"Uhhh…" Thor was clearly embarrassed.

"How big?"

"Twenty fliers, okay? We could not get more than that!" Thor roared, throwing another rock towards Uranus and Erebus, who flinched and ducked away. But Luna, who understood her brother best, came to Thor's aid.

"It will not matter how many we have if we can get Queen Athena." She said.

"Thank you, Luna." Thor said.

"And how are we going to do that?" Erebus muttered, then flinched, as if expecting Thor to throw another rock at him. Thor frowned.

"I do not know!" He screamed. Luna laid a wing on his shoulder.

"Calm down. We will find a way." She said. Thor brushed her wing away.

"Well, I am going to inspect the cave quarters." Thor said, and flew out.

"Tactless!" Luna scolded Erebus and Uranus, before flying back to her own, smaller, cave.

Thor flew down a tunnel to the caves that his army inhabited. The Terrorwings had made headquarters in a series of caves that branched out from the alternate path on Hephaestus. At one point, Gregor and his group had passed right by the concealed tunnel leading towards their caves, but hadn't known it.

Thor stopped at the first cave that five of the twenty fliers inhabited. Three of them were there, and the other two were fishing at the nearby river. Thor decided that was okay.

The rest of the Terrorwings were either at the river or in their caves. They all saluted Thor when he checked on them. He told each flier the battle plan, and they all agreed. Of course, none of them would disagree, because Thor was easily angered.

Thor returned to his cave when he was through. He made his spot on his favorite perch and was prepared to sleep for about an hour when one of the Terrorwings flew in.

"What do you want, Chronos?" Thor barked.

"Selene wants to see Luna, Thor." Chronos said, and flew out. Thor grunted. Selene was one of the females he had recruited, and, like Luna, was one of his acrobatic fighters.

"Probably wants to work on battle maneuvers." He muttered to himself, and went off to find Luna.

Luna was no longer in her cave. Thor grunted and flew down the tunnel. He saw a brown bat flying. "You!" he said to the bat. "Have you seen Luna?"

"Yes, I believe she was by the river, Thor." The bat answered.

"Thanks." Thor said. The bat nodded and flew off.

Sure enough, Luna was by the river. There were a bunch of other fliers watching her. She was doing loop-the-loops in the air, then zooming down towards the river and pulling a fish out with her claws. She dropped it on the ground and held her wings up as if expecting approval. The other fliers cheered for her, and she grinned smugly.

Thor smiled. Luna was such a show-off.

Luna saw Thor and flew over to him. "Yes?" she purred, sensing that he wanted to talk to her.

"Chronos said Selene wants to see you." Thor said. He hated playing messenger, but sometimes it had to be done.

"Oh, yes, I've been meaning to talk to her for some time. Thank you." She said, and flew off. Thor flew grumpily back to his cave.

"Can anyone get a little rest around here?" he asked himself angrily. He found his perch again, but, try as he might, he could not sleep. He just had too much on his mind. He grudgingly got up from his perch. They would have to leave soon, anyway.

"Erebus! Uranus!" he stuck his head out of the cave entrance and shouted down the tunnel. His brothers came flying into his cave.

"What, Thor?" They asked.

"Erebus, you assemble the males. Uranus, you go tell Luna to assemble the females, and then find Erebus and join him. Meet me at the gathering cave. We have to leave." Thor instructed. Erebus and Uranus nodded and flew off. Thor flew to the gathering cave.

The gathering cave was the biggest cave in their hideout spot. It could easily hold a hundred fliers, though they only had twenty. The gathering cave was also where they had been practicing battle maneuvers for the past month.

Thor found his special perch in the front of the room and stood on it. He waited for about ten minutes, and then Erebus and Uranus flew in, leading the ten males with them. Seconds later, Luna flew in with thee remaining ten females. They all were silent and waited for Thor to speak.

"Welcome, everyone!" he boomed, staring at them all. "Today, we shall begin to carry out our plan to finish the Bane's noble work! They shall never get that bone, and the humans will no longer have power over us! The Underland belongs to us fliers, clearly the most powerful species!

"The humans would have been _nothing _without us, and I am sure we all regret helping them! We could now easily overthrow them, think about it! We have wings and they do not! We have bigger numbers! The Underland is in our hands, we just have to fight for it!

"There are only a few humans who had the right idea, like my deceased bond Henry! He agreed with the Bane, that the gnawers were the rightful dominators of the Underland! Well, now those gnawers have made a mistake, with the compromise! Now there is barely a single gnawer who does not want peace with humans! But we fliers will show them! Soon, every species in the Underland will bow down at our feet, even the gnawers, and it all starts at this! Protect the bone!" Thor shouted.

"Protect the bone!" the fliers mirrored, and it was time to go. Thor led the fliers out of the cave and down the tunnel. They all flew out the secret shortcut to the Plain of Tartarus, which only they knew about. It was time to fight.


	18. The Gnawer's land

Chapter 18

"No, Ripred, they should NOT have gone!" Luxa and Ripred were arguing again.

"Yes, they should have! You know as well as I do that the most important thing right now is to contact Regalia!" Ripred snapped.

"No, it is not! Our number one priority is to retrieve the bone! Besides, what is they are killed in the attempt? The path is dangerous, we only just escaped death!" Luxa fought back.

"They won't be! You're forgetting who Nyx is; she's as swift as any flier, plus the fact that she'll do anything to protect Persephone! They were really the best ones for the job!" said Ripred.

"No, the best one for the job was no one!" Luxa shouted louder then ever, taking everyone by surprise. Gregor decided he should try to calm her.

"Luxa, maybe you should just…" Gregor began, but Luxa held up her hand to stop him.

"I suppose you agree with him? You think it is right to send two innocent fliers on a pointless mission to humor your ridiculous fantasy, do you not?" Luxa snapped.

"Luxa, it's not ridiculous! It all fits together! Think about it for a minute, please!" Gregor said.

"I have already thought about it! I have given you my opinion, which, as I am the queen, is of utmost importance, but you will not listen! I am done, Gregor!" Luxa shouted, and with that she positioned herself lying on her back on Aurora, arms crossed, staring up at the ceiling. Gregor decided it best not to argue with her more.

They flew on in silence. Gregor could tell that they were in the gnawers land now, because he was seeing more and more of the rats now. Surprisingly, they didn't seem to care mush that a band of humans, fliers, rats, and a cockroach were flying through their land. Gregor assumed that since a definite peace had been formed, it was seen a lot throughout the four months he had been gone.

Gregor could see a group of rats in front of them. Most of them were dull grays and browns, but there was one that was an astonishing, sleek black color. The black rat suddenly turned around, and when it looked up at them, it smiled, in a way that showed Gregor that it was definitely a female. Gregor saw her look at Ripred, who was running below them, and she gave a kind of purr.

"Oh no." Gregor heard Ripred say. "Look who it is. Smoketail." Ripred began to frantically groom his fur, and the black rat prowled over to him.

"Well, Ripred, nice to see you here again." Smoketail said, in a low, purr-ish voice. It reminded Gregor of Twirltounge, but not as…persuasive.

Gregor turned back to Ripred, who was still grooming his fur frantically. Suddenly Gregor understood, and laughed. Smoketail looked at him, and Ripred glared at him.

"Watch yourself, warrior." He said. Gregor shut up. He knew Ripred would have said more "inappropriate" words to him if it hadn't been for his "love interest" here and he didn't want to rile the rat up.

"So, Ripred, how've you been? The last time I saw you was three months ago, when you turned down the opportunity to be my mate." Smoketail said, curling her long tail around Ripred, who stood up straighter.

"I'm sorry, Smoketail, but it would be dangerous for you! You know how it is for me!" Ripred said. "And you know what happened to Fairfur." He added as an afterthought. Gregor was pretty sure Fairfur had been Ripred's first mate.

"But you didn't have to leave me in the dust like that!" Smoketail purred fiercely.

"I am sorry to break up this happy reunion, but we have a bone to retrieve!" Luxa said, jumping off of Aurora and angrily facing the two rats.

"Well, if it isn't the pushy queen. So you are following the prophecy of Bone, are you?" Smoketail said, facing Luxa.

"Yes, we are." Luxa said, coldly staring at the rat. Smoketail stared her down just as coldly, and Gregor was amazed that Luxa was able to hold her gaze.

"All I have to say is, 'good riddance'. That Bane brought only trouble for us gnawers. What's that bone supposed to do again?" Smoketail asked.

"Decide fate in a nonviolent way." Luxa said, still holding her gaze.

"Yeah, okay. Is that even possible?" Smoketail asked, rolling her eyes.

You have seen its possibilities, Smoketail." Luxa said. The rat was quiet for a moment, then she spoke.

"Too right I have. Anyway, Ripred, nice seeing you again. I hope you change your mind." She said. "Fly you high, everyone." And with that, she ran off, her little band of rats following. Ripred smacked himself in the head with his paw. Gregor could hardly suppress laughter.

They all got moving again. Luxa still barely spoke to anyone besides Hazard and Aurora. Gregor didn't understand why she was so unwilling to believe that Thor and the Terrorwings were in the prophecy.

After a while, Ripred said that they were really close. Gregor's hand tightened around the hilt of the emerald sword in his belt. He had given up trying to figure out where it came from.

Gregor caught Luxa eyeing the sword enviously. Gregor knew that she wanted to test it out, but was too proud to ask. He decided to be the nice guy here. He handed the sword to Luxa.

"Try it." He said simply. She stared at him for a moment, but then she took it. She felt the blade in her hands and took a few swipes with it. She then handed it back to Gregor.

"This sword has excellent precision. It is almost as good as Sandwich's itself. Are you quite sure you do not know where it came from?" she asked.

"Not a clue." Gregor said truthfully. Luxa sighed. They both sat in silence for a moment until Luxa finally spoke up.

"Gregor, I am sorry if I upset you by not believing your theory, but it would mean horror for the humans in the Underland. As you know, the fliers are our closest allies. Without them…we would be completely vulnerable." She said. Gregor stared at her.

"So you're saying you don't want to believe that they're going to attack us." Gregor said, half-questioning her.

Luxa sighed. "I do not know. I just do not want to be the ruler of Regalia who loses our number one ally."

Gregor understood what she meant. Luxa didn't want to be the Queen who failed her people. He reached out over the gap between Hera and Aurora and grasped her hand.

"I don't think all of them would turn. And besides, there are a lot of people who would still love you even if…that happened." He said. She gave a small smile, but her expression quickly turned solemn again.

They flew on in complete silence, but only for another forty-five minutes. After that time, they opened up into the cavern that was all too familiar to Gregor, except he wished he had never known it. It reeked of decomposing flesh, coming from the body of the Bane, Twirltongue, and his very best friend, Ares.

They were at the Plain of Tartarus.


	19. Contacting Regalia

Chapter 19

"Mother, I do not see why you had to accompany me. I am close to full-grown now; I believe I can handle flying back to Regalia!" Persephone grumbled. She and Nyx had been flying for an hour now, mostly silent.

"Exactly, you are not yet full grown! You are my daughter, Persephone, and I intend to protect you. Now drop it, before I turn us both back around!" Nyx said stubbornly.

"All right." Persephone said glumly. "What exactly are we supposed to be telling Regalia anyway?"

Nyx sighed. "Well, that we may need a backup army, and that Castor has been killed, and that the path has caved in, that the rest of the group is safe, and that you are safe, and that we have interpreted the prophecy, and that the fliers may attack, and that Thor is back, and that..."

"Okay, I get it. We have a lot to tell them." Persephone interrupted.

"And we must watch out for your father. If we are correct, he is hanging around the path, if he has not yet flown to the Plain." Nyx said.

"I bet he is." Persephone mumbled. They flew on, but suddenly Nyx stopped. Persephone turned back to look at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I just realized…how will we get back? The path has caved, and I believe that is the only way!" Nyx said. But Persephone just smiled.

"That is where you are wrong, Mother. You see, that little trip to the Firelands I took with Castor really paid off. I think we are just about…oh yes, here it is now!" Persephone said. She flew over to a wall. A flat stone slab was covering something. She beckoned to Nyx, who, astonished that her daughter knew this, helped her move it. It revealed entrance to a tunnel.

"It goes the same way as the Path of Hephaestus, only it is safer. And quicker. It is too bad I was not allowed to come to that meeting back in Regalia, or I could have told you about it. This is the way I took after I got away from father." Persephone said proudly. Nyx was still astonished.

"Well, then, let us go." Nyx said. They set off again.

Soon the angle sloped downward. It took them about three hours to fly all the way down, and then the path flattened down again. The walls had a greenish-gray tint to them, and water dripped from the ceiling. Nyx grimaced.

"Persephone, where are we?" she asked, already suspecting the answer.

"Under the Waterway." Persephone answered. "That is why this path is quicker then Hephaestus, because Hephaestus is interrupted by the waterway, so it goes around. This goes straight through."

"Oh." Nyx said. She didn't really like feeling inferior to her daughter, and was still getting used to her new role as the follower.

They became soaked with the dripping water. The tunnel smelled musty.

"Persephone, are you sure we are going the right way?" Nyx asked.

"I…yes. This looks just like it did yesterday. But it…feels different." Persephone said. Suddenly, both bats' heads snapped up.

"Persephone, land. Now." Nyx hissed. Her large ears twitched.

"No! There is someone here." Persephone said.

"Yes, and that is precisely why!" Nyx said. "Land, now!"

Persephone grumbled, but she landed. Nyx stayed flying, when suddenly, a big brown bat flew around a corner. He looked surprised at the sight of Nyx and Persephone, but then he smiled a vicious grin. "It is them!" he cried. At this, Nyx flew forward. In a flash, she gave a bloodcurdling screech and tore the bat's throat open with her deadly bat claws. It fell to the ground, blood running from its neck, clearly dead. Persephone gasped, but stayed put. She had not known her mother was so tough. At that moment, a stunning silvery bat with white ears flew around the corner. She gave a horrible, evil grin, even worse that the brown bat's.

"Nyx." She purred. "and little Persephone. Thank you for joining us, you saved us the trouble of looking for you."

"Luna." Nyx said, glaring at her. "And what did you want with us?"

"You see, I have a message to pass on from your old mate, my brother. I am sure you remember him?" Luna smirked.

"I do. What is the message?" Nyx asked.

"The message is, 'die!'" and with that, she lunged at Nyx, who dove out of her way. Luna did a quick back flip about-face and lunged again. This time, she clawed Nyx's wing, leaving a small but deep gash. Nyx didn't seem very affected, though. She lunged back at Luna, slamming her wing into her face with extreme power, knocking her out cold. Nyx took that moment to pull a stunned Persephone onto her back and flying off at extreme speed. Persephone held on to her mother's back with all her might. Nyx was a lot like her brother, Ares; she was really strong and fast.

After flying for an hour and deciding that it was safe, Nyx let Persephone off of her back. Persephone stretched her wings gingerly and flew on with her mother.

"And that is precisely why I had to come with you." Nyx said. Persephone nodded.

"I understand." She said. They flew on, still going as fast as possible.

They took a few short, half-hour breaks, but for the most part, flew for a straight twelve hours. By the time the path was out from under the waterway, they were exhausted, but only two hours away from Regalia.

They took another short break and prepared to fly the rest of the way to Regalia nonstop. It wouldn't be a long trip, but it would be a tiring one.

Nyx was relieved when she saw the lights of Regalia. She and Persephone quickened their pace, and in a minute they were on the floor of the High Hall, panting. A guard saw them and called for Vikus. Within a minute, he was there. Nyx got up to talk to him.

"Nyx! What ails you? Why do you return?" he asked her.

"Persephone…found us. The Path collapsed, Castor is dead, Thor is back, the Overlander and his group are on their way to the Plain, and the Terrorwings are going to attack!" Nyx said, her voice getting higher and higher until it was a shriek. Vikus laid a hand on her wing. Nyx took a deep breath and told him everything, starting with the beginning of the trip. Vikus looked astonished.

"But we must send an army, right away!" he said. "Rest up; we will have a small army ready when you awaken." Nyx smiled as Vikus led them to a small chamber off of the Hall.

"Come out when you awaken. I am sorry, but you must take them there. They will need…explaining." Vikus said. Nyx nodded, and she settled down to sleep, cradling Persephone in her wings.


	20. Bone and Battle

Chapter 20

"Well, here we are." Ripred finally broke the silence.

"So we just…just go grab the bone?" Gregor said, not believing it was this easy.

"Try it. We'll back you up." Ripred said, shrugging.

"O—kay." Gregor said. He and Hera flew up to the Bane's decaying body. It smelled horrible.

"Gregor, don't touch! Ick ick icky!" Boots cried.

"Sorry Boots, but I have too. Hera, can you cover Boots's eyes? This might be a little gross for her." Gregor asked. Hera did so, covering Boots's face with her wing. He dismounted Hera pulled the emerald sword out of his belt and sliced open the Bane's back.

"Ughh." Gregor said.

"You are going to have to reach in and grab it." Kendra said. Gregor swung around. He had forgotten Kendra was there.

"Oh, great." Gregor said. "Does anyone have gloves, or something?" he asked. Howard reached into his medical kit and pulled out a pair of rubber gloves. Gregor put them on, and, pinching his nose with one hand, went to reach in the body.

"Does id madder which one?" he asked, still pinching his nose, so his voice sounded weird.

"I do not believe so." Luxa answered, shrugging.

"Okay. Well, dis rib looks easiesd do ged." He said. Even those he was holding his nose, everyone understood that he had said, "this rib looks easiest to get".

"Then go for it." Ripred said.

"Okay." said Gregor. He reached in. "Id won'd budge." He said.

"Saw it, with your sword." Clipclaw suggested. Gregor tried this. It took about five minutes to do so, as the Bane's bones were really thick. But when he pulled it free of the body, everyone cheered. Ripred quieted them all.

"Anyone could be listening, lurking in the dark! Shut up!" he hissed. They all quieted.

"Place it in here, Gregor." Howard said, holding out a cowhide bag. Gregor did.

"Well, now what?" he asked.

"The bone is supposed to 'take a different shape'." Aurora said.

"Yes, but what does that mean?" Nike asked.

"I believe it means we are supposed to disguise it." Luxa said, staring up at the ceiling.

"But how?" Hera asked.

"Perhaps we are disguising it by putting it in the bag." Howard guessed.

"Perhaps." Luxa said, but she was still looking at the ceiling.

"Hold it!" Ripred said. His nose went in the air, sniffing. Gregor couldn't smell anything but decaying flesh. But suddenly, the bat's heads snapped up,

"It's them!" Apollo hissed. Gregor grabbed Boots and jumped onto Hera.

"You can't fight with her, Overlander!" Ripred said.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Gregor asked.

"I will take her, and Temp and Hazard and Clipclaw!" Apollo said. Gregor hoisted boots and Hazard onto his back, and Clipclaw and Temp followed. Man, Apollo was strong! He flew off with them down a tunnel.

"Bye, Gregor!" Boots called back, waving. She didn't know what was going on, but Hazard looked scared.

Suddenly, a wave of wings erupted from both the North and the South side of the cavern. A familiar black and red bat was leading the ones from the north side. Nyx! Behind her were about fifty Regalians on bats.

But from the south side, there was fifty fliers being led by a black and gray bat. Apparently, Thor had persuaded more to join him.

"Let's go!" Ripred cried.

Gregor and Hera took off. Gregor welcomed his rager senses as they came buzzing through him. Before they could properly position themselves, a big brown bat was in there face, claws going for Hera's wings.

"Axle dive!" Gregor cried. Hera snapped her wings to the side and dove downward, spinning. She pulled out just in time and rose up. Before the brown bat could do anything, Gregor slit its underbelly and it fell to the ground, its intestines spilling out.

Gregor spotted Howard and Nike on the other side of the cavern. Nike trying to get to Howard, who had slipped off her back onto a rock ledge, but a bat was preventing her from getting there.

"Go, Hera!" Gregor shouted. Hera sped down the cavern. She grabbed the bat's wings in her claws, and Gregor slit them. Nike got to Howard and lifted him up, ready to fight again.

"Wow that was great, Hera!" Gregor cried, over the wails.

"Thank you! Andromeda practiced that with me! The trick is to grab the wing below the thumb joint, so it cannot scratch you!" Hera shouted.

"Great!" Gregor said. Then suddenly he picked up something with his echolocation. "Hera, behind you!" he shouted.

A bat had been sneaking up behind them, claws ready to slash Hera's wings. Hera swung around, and Gregor slit its wings, and it fell. That taught them never to let their guard down.

The battle was becoming bloody, but so far neither side looked close to defeat. Actually, the Regalians had an advantage, because not only did they have fliers, they had riders.

Gregor had received numerous cuts on his legs, but nothing too horrible, and Hera had a tiny scratch on the tip of her wings. She was really good at keeping them out of reach. All in all, they were okay.

"Quick, coming from the left and right!" Gregor shouted, but Hera was way ahead of him.

"Hold on!" she cried. As the two bats zoomed for both sides of them, Hera snapped her wings in their faces, a move Gregor had seen her use once before, when they were battling Gushgore's army four months ago. Apparently this worked on bats just as well as it had on rats, because there was a crack as their necks broke, and they fell to the ground.

Now Thor's army was showing signs of defeat. Most of the bodies on the ground were those of bats from his army, although some humans and human-siding fliers were dead too.

Gregor saw a bond pair kill a few Terrorwings. Actually, the peachy colored bat looked familiar, and so did the human. They swung around, and Gregor realized who they were.

"Hey Perdita! Hey Theia!" he said.

"Hello, Overlander!" Perdita cried back, her sword moving in a complicated twisting pattern and severing a giant bat ear. "You might want to watch out, behind you!" she cried. Gregor and Hera swung around, but by the time they had knocked the bat unconscious, Perdita and Theia were gone, battling another bat.

Gregor saw Ripred in the center of the cavern. He was the only rat present. A few fliers kept taking swipes at him, but he either avoided the blows or knocked them out of the air.

Luxa, Aurora, Howard, and Nike looked okay. They were fighting a pair of big brown and black bats. Kendra and Leda were flipping down and finishing off the wounded Terrorwings on the floor. Not really much help, but what could they do about it?

Nyx was performing super wild acrobatic moves as she had when defending Stellovet four months ago, except this time she was on the offensive. Most of the Terrorwings did not dare to go near her; she was to wild and deadly.

Gregor assumed Persephone had flown off after Apollo, Clipclaw, boots, and Hazard, but his stomach gave a jolt when he saw her above everyone, ripping chunks of flesh out of bat's bodies. Gregor wondered where she learned that, and why Nyx was letting her fight, but he had to hand it to her, she was brave.

Gregor and Hera were stained with blood, but most of it was not their own. Hera was all but indistinguishable, because the crimson blood on her bright fur turned her red.

Suddenly, Hera did a sharp dive to avoid a pair of claws coming at them from above, and Gregor's mouth slammed into her neck. He spat blood out of his mouth, and, waving away Hera's apologies, held on tighter.

More and more soldiers were dying, and Gregor hoped it would be over soon. Suddenly, a voice, it sounded like Luxa's, cried, "Gregor! Turn around!" Hera spun around, and Gregor was face to face with an angry Thor himself.


	21. Thor's revenge

Chapter 21

"Miss me, Overlander?" Thor growled. He lunged for Hera but she dove out of the way. "It has been much too long."

Gregor just stared at him, his sword out in front of him. He didn't say anything, so Thor continued.

"I never got to talk to you properly after you killed my bond. But no matter, I will get you now, with all your little friends, and my traitor mate and daughter." He lunged again, but this time his claws closed on Hera's wing. Hera shrieked.

"NO!" Gregor cried. He swiped his sword at Thor, and with a ton of strength, severed one of the claws holding Hera's wing. Thor roared in pain, and Hera pulled herself from the other claw. Her wing tip had some scratches, but it wasn't much damage. Gregor pulled the bloody claw off of Hera's wing, and threw it in his backpack. Man, he was going to have a collection of those soon, with Ares's and now Thor's.

Thor wasn't doing well coping without his right claw. He couldn't do much damage with only one, so he appeared to be trying to knock them out of the air. He was flapping his giant, thundering wings, and Hera was doing all she could to avoid them. She was flipping madly left and right, and Gregor couldn't get himself in a good attack position.

"Heraaaaa!" Gregor cried as she did a full body roll that nearly sent him tumbling off her back.

"Sorry, Gregor!" she screeched back, slowing her flips a bit. Gregor held on tighter.

Suddenly, with a move surprisingly swift for the big bat, Thor plucked Gregor off of Hera's back with his remaining claw. Hera didn't realize for a second and dove down, but when she did, Ripred pinned down her wings before she could go back.

"Release me, Ripred! We are BONDS!" Hera cried, finishing off with a huge shriek that could have challenged even Nyx, the queen of loud shrieks.

"You'll only make it harder for him to get himself free!" Ripred snarled at the struggling Hera.

He was right. Gregor wasn't in any immediate danger, because Thor didn't have his other claw. Gregor was just dangling, grasping Thor's claw shut with one hand so he couldn't attack him. He had his sword in his other hand, but wasn't sure what to do with it. If Hera flew up to rescue him, it would make it easier for them both to be injured.

Hera was still shrieking and trying to free herself, but Ripred was immensely strong. Gregor saw Luxa and Howard, hovering in midair on Aurora and Nike, watching fearfully. The Terrorwings were lost without the guidance of Thor. Persephone was hovering off to the side, but Nyx was battling Luna silently, despite a few screeches from both bats. The rest of the Regalians were also watching, Kendra and Leda as well.

Gregor pulled his sword arm up above him and cut Thor's tender under wing. Thor gave a cry, and Gregor let go. He fell, but Hera managed to pull herself free and caught him and flew off to the side with him. A bunch of Regalians moved in to take on Thor while Gregor caught his breath.

"Are you—okay?" Hera asked, panting. They had landed on a stone ledge. Gregor nodded. He had a nasty cut on his left arm, but he wasn't thinking about it much. Hera also had a small cut on her wing.

"I'm sorry I dragged you—into this." Gregor panted. "I guess being my bond is—harder than anything."

"Do not be stupid, I am extremely glad to be your bond." Hera said, brushing dust off of both of them with her wings. Gregor gave the bat a hug, ignoring the blood covering her.

Howard and Nike coasted in. "Gregor, let me stitch that for you. You will not be able to continue fighting with an open wound like that. And Hera, your wing." Howard said. He quickly stitched them both up, and they thanked him.

"Are you ready to continue the battle?"" Hera asked.

"Yeah, I—LUXA!!!" Gregor cried.

Luxa and Aurora had apparently gone in to fight Thor as well. Aurora was unconscious, off to the side, bleeding, but Luxa was still conscious, although trapped. Her leg was sliced open, but Thor had her pinned down by two fliers Nyx had told Gregor were his brothers, Erebus and Uranus. Gregor jumped on to Hera and they flew over, but Ripred slammed his tail in front of them.

"What's your plan?" he snarled.

"I don't know, I just have to—LUXA!" he cried. R was holding his claw right over his heart.

"Make one move and your little queen friend DIES!" Thor roared. Luxa gave a grunt and tried to reach for her sword, but Erebus and Uranus held her down tighter.

Gregor couldn't fight the impulse to run and help her. He jumped off Hera's back only to be pinned down by Ripred.

"Gregor, the prophecy!" Howard had appeared out of nowhere.

"What—about it?" Gregor grunted, struggling to free himself from Ripred.

"Listen, you idiot!" Ripred snarled.

"_Can he hold when her life is at cost?_" Howard quoted.

"Yeah, _else he will be among the lost._ But isn't that about Hera?" Gregor asked, looking back at his bat.

But Hera slowly shook her head. "No, that was not about me at all. _Together with a long-lost girl._ That is Luxa, not I!" she said, realization dawning across her face.

"But how? Luxa's not long-lost!" Gregor said.

"Yes, she is." Howard said. "Do you remember how lost she was after her parents died, and after Henry betrayed her?"

Then Gregor got it. Luxa had been lost and had trouble feeling sadness, but when she became together with him, it was like a reincarnation for her. And now he had to hold, or else he would die as well.

"But…but… I'd die for her! She can't die, I should! Regalia needs her!" Gregor cried.

"And your family needs you! If you try to save her, you'll both die! We're trying to find a way to get you both out of this alive!" Ripred shouted at him.

"Okay, but what are we going to do?" Gregor asked helplessly. That was truly the question. What were they going to do?

As he watched Luxa, Gregor was slowly losing hope that either of them would make it back to Regalia alive.


	22. Goodbye

Chapter 22

Gregor began to bite his nails. It wasn't something he normally did, but he was really nervous now for Luxa. It didn't help the fact that his nails were caked with dried blood, but he was bleeding practically everywhere, even in his mouth, so it didn't matter.

Gregor noticed Kendra, desperately trying to revive an unconscious and heavily bleeding Leda. "Good riddance." He thought, but at the same time felt a twinge of guilt for not helping her, but they were more focused on Luxa now.

Luxa gave a scream. She tried to reach for her sword again, but Erebus had his claw on top of it. She locked eyes with Gregor for a minute, and mouth something. Gregor thought it was, "Help Aurora!"

"No! We have to help you!" Gregor shouted.

Luxa shook her head. "I have—to go!" she gasped. Gregor realized that she thought she had to die.

"No! No, Luxa, you can't die yet, you can't!" Gregor cried, but Luxa just gave a tiny shake of her head and closed her eyes. "NO!!" Gregor cried. Tears were forming in his eyes. "Don't go! Hold on!" Gregor shouted. He turned helplessly to the others, but Ripred was trying to hold back the Regalian troops, and the others were watching fearfully.

Gregor couldn't take it any more. He charged at Thor, not even really thinking about what he was doing. Thor lifted his claw from Luxa's chest for a minute and slashed Gregor's cheek. Gregor fell backward, but was about to get up and charge him again, but a pair of claws lifted him into the air and deposited him on the ground in front of Ripred. Gregor scowled at Hera.

"I have to help her! Why did you do that?" Gregor asked his bat.

"Look!" She said. Gregor turned to the East exit of the cavern, and saw a lightning fast gray streak charging at Thor. It was Clipclaw!

Clipclaw jumped onto Thor's back and sunk her claws into his flesh. He gave a roar and flipped Clipclaw onto her back. Erebus and Uranus got distracted and turned away from Luxa for just a split second, but it was enough. She slipped out, grabbed her sword and dashed over to Gregor, and after giving him a deep hug, ran over to Aurora with Howard.

But Gregor had just realized what was happening. Clipclaw was seconds away from death, and she knew it. Thor had the small rat pinned down tight, and was about to claw her straight in the heart. Clipclaw had her eyes closed and her mouth shut tight. She gave a small squeal.

Gregor knew he had to help her. She had risked her life to save Luxa!

Without thinking of anything except helping Clipclaw, he charged at Thor and plunged his sword into his back. Thor gave an earsplitting roar of pain and fell over, but not before he plunged his claw right into Clipclaw's heart.

Gregor's sword had found its place. It had pierced Thor's heart from the back, and he had only seconds left in his agonized life.

"Over—lander, you—will—be—finished…" he gurgled, and then he slipped away. Thor was gone.

Gregor heard a shriek of agony. Luxa had screeched, but could not pull out of her fight with Nyx. Erebus, Uranus, and the rest of the Terrorwings fled, and the Regalians, after seeing their queen was safe, had left already. They didn't know or care about Clipclaw.

But Clipclaw! She was still alive! They could still help her! Gregor dashed over to the rat.

Clipclaw's eyes were open, and she was taken short, rasping breaths. Blood was seeping through her gray-silver fur. Gregor placed a hand on her wound.

"We need to help her! We need to get her back to the hospital!" Gregor cried. Howard came up beside him.

"Clipclaw? Can you hear us? We are going to get you back to the Regalian hospital! We can help you! Just try to hold on!" he said, laying a hand on Clipclaw's head.

But Clipclaw shook her head. "No." she gasped. "There's no way—I'll make it. Just—leave me."

"But—but," Gregor stuttered. He didn't want her to die.

"_Is light life, or is it death?_" Luxa had appeared behind him.

"Excuse me?" Gregor asked, confused.

"_Is light life, or is it death? Decided on the final breath._ The prophecy." She said. And it all came to Gregor.

If they saved Clipclaw and did manage to get her back to Regalia alive, it would be even more painful to go through all the medical operations that would be needed to save her. And those scars would affect her heart and body, and she would have to suffer all through her life. In the Underland, "Light" was "Life", and Clipclaw's life wouldn't be filled with light if she had to suffer like that. It wouldn't be like living at all. So for her, the light was death. She would be happier and healthier if she was dead. And now, on her final breaths, it was decided.

Gregor stroked the rats face, then backed away, but Luxa stepped forward and held her paw in her hand.

"Thank you." she said. "For saving my life. It is a deed I will always hold in my heart, in thanksgiving to you, brave Clipclaw. I will never forget you." Gregor could have sworn he saw a tear drip onto Clipclaw's chest, but when Luxa looked up, her eyes looked dry.

"No, thank—you." Clipclaw said, and these were the last words she ever spoke. Her eyes glazed over. She had passed on.

Gregor was extremely affected, but at the same time, he was happy for her. She was out of her misery, and she deserved a good life in heaven. He missed her already.

Gregor reached out and took Luxa's hand. Now she was actually crying. He wrapped his arms around her, and they both cried into each other's shoulders.

Suddenly, there was a great "uumph" sound and a piercing shriek. Luna had successfully banged Nyx into the cavern wall, where she slid down, dazed. Luna took that moment to escape, but not before she dug her claws deep into Gregor's back. Luxa slipped from Gregor's arms as he fell backward, his eyes seeing Luna cackling as she flew off, but not really comprehending anything.

He heard the screams and shouts of the others and felt a number of hands on his back. He heard a number of voices calling, "Gregor! Gregor!" but he had lost the aptitude to answer them.

It was a powerful feeling of déjà vu. He was on his way to death, just like he had been in this very place four months ago. The only difference was that his friends were all there, around him. He reached out to grab Ares's claw in his hands, because that was what he had done last time. To his surprise, he did feel a claw in his hand, but how could it be Ares's? His eyes told him it was Hera's. He held it tighter. At least she was okay. At least he didn't have to watch another bond die. At least it was only him this time.

At least he would be with Ares now.


	23. The Chosen One

Chapter 23

Gregor's eyes snapped open. Was he dead? Because this didn't look like anyplace he'd been before. Was it heaven?

He was in a cave, but it wasn't like any cave he'd seen before in the Underland. It was the most beautiful lapis lazuli hall, with an arched ceiling. And it was giving off a wonderfully bright glow.

"Gregor." A voice said. Gregor stupidly started looking around. He thought it was "god" speaking to him. But it wasn't god.

It was a familiar big black bat, but how could it be? The bat he thought it was was dead, and this bat was totally unmarked! Maybe he really was dead. The bat's face broke into a big smile when he saw Gregor look at him. There was no doubt who it was now.

Gregor ran toward Ares and wrapped his arms around him. Then he backed away and blinked a few times.

"Where am I?" he asked, after seeing that Ares was definitely not an illusion.

"The Hall of the Dead." Ares said.

"And that is…" Gregor was still super confused.

"It is like…a spirit sanctuary." Ares said.

"So we're spirits?" Gregor asked.

"I am, but I have taken a different shape. You are not. In fact, you are not dead at all." Ares answered.

"How is that possible?" Gregor said.

"There is someone better than me to explain it too you." Ares said. At that moment, a familiar figure appeared and walked toward them. Gregor realized that it was Nerissa, except a much more stable and neat Nerissa. Her hair was mostly loose, but part of it was pinned up in a leather thong. She was wearing an elegant violet robe, and was walking completely steadily. It was Nerissa at her best.

"There is a prophecy that is so secret that only the dead know about it. It is said that Sandwich himself wrote it when he was dead. That is why it is called, 'The prophecy of the dead.'" Nerissa said. She may have been in much better shape, but her voice had not yet lost its ghostly, dreamlike tone.

"What does it say?" Gregor asked.

"I cannot tell you the exact words, which you will discover only when you are truly dead, but I can tell you what it predicts. It says that one who has done so much for the Underland and those he loves will have the chance to speak to his dead acquaintances that he thought he would never again. His passed loved ones would take the form they had had in their living years and speak to the Chosen One, as if they were reunited in life itself. Gregor, you are the Chosen One, and your time has come." She answered. It took Gregor a second to comprehend all of this, and when he did he was left speechless for a minute.

"Okay, so you and Ares are here. But what about everyone else?" Gregor asked. He wanted to see everyone.

"Hi, Gregor." Two rats had appeared. Clipclaw and Twitchtip!

"Hi!" Gregor said. "Hey, Clipclaw, thanks again for saving Luxa." Gregor said. She smiled. "And Twitchtip, I'm really sorry I didn't come to save you, but we all thought you were dead."

Twitchtip held her paw up. "It's not your fault. After all, you were the one who saved me from the whirlpool." She said.

No sooner had Gregor turned away when two others appeared. One was an adult Underlander who looked astonishingly like Luxa, and the other was a colossal lizard. Hamnet and Frill.

"Greetings, Gregor!" Hamnet said. He clapped Gregor on the shoulder.

"Greetingsss, Overlanderrr." Frill said. Gregor patted her back.

"I'm sorry you guys had to die in that useless battle." Gregor said. "It didn't solve anything. The starshade wasn't the cure."

"Well, everyone has to go someday. And Hazard is probably better off in Regalia." Hamnet said. Frill nodded.

"Hello, Gregor." An old voice said. He swung around, and there was his grandma, still old, but her arthritis seemed to be gone.

"Grandma!" Gregor said. He hugged her tighter than he ever had before. Now he felt tears in his eyes. "I never even got to say goodbye." He mumbled.

"It's okay, honey." His grandma said.

"Greetings!" a happy little voice cried. A peach bat with white streaks like a tabby was waving at him over his grandma's shoulder. Thalia!

Gregor let go of his grandma and went over to Thalia. "Hey, Thalia." He said. "Hazard misses you."

He saw a little tear come to the bat's eye. "I miss him too." She said.

Gregor wanted to cheer her up. "Hey, I've got a good one for you." he said. "What do you call a flier who can't fly?"

Thalia's sad look automatically turned to one of excitement. "I do not know, what?"

"A walker." Gregor answered. Thalia began giggling, then chuckling, then shrieking with laughter. She fluttered away, waving at him.

"Greetings." Someone said. A small gray mouse was waving at him.

"Hi, Cartesian!" Gregor said. "Thanks for protecting the mouse pups in the nursery. You were really brave."

"The pups did not get enough chance to live. I did." Cartesian answered, and left it at that.

All of his deceased friends were talking amongst themselves. Gregor watched, hardly daring to believe this was really happening.

Then Gregor noticed someone familiar uncertainly coming towards him. Solovet? Had she been his friend?

"Hello, Gregor." Solovet said.

"Hey, Solovet." Gregor said.

"Thank you for defending Regalia. My city owes much to you." Solovet said. "And thank you for wanting to save me when I was attacked at the Spinner Lands, but it was my time to go."

"Yeah. What exactly happened there?" Gregor asked. He had really wanted to know.

"Horatio, Marcus, and I were ambushed at exactly the eleventh hour by a pack of at least thirty gnawers. We fought, but in the end we were outnumbered. That was when the spinners saw the injustice of it all and decided to fight on our side." Solovet answered grimly.

"Oh." Gregor said. Solovet walked away, over to Hamnet. Gregor went towards Ares and Nerissa, who were talking quietly in the center of the Hall.

"Ares, I have so much to tell you." he said to his bat.

"I know much of it already. So my sister has finally come out of exile, has she?" Ares asked.

"Oh, yeah! Nyx is great. She reminds me a lot of you." Gregor said. Ares smiled. "Did you hear about Persephone?" Gregor continued.

"Yes, I guess she is my niece. Is she nice?" Ares asked.

"Yeah. She's funny too, and really brave. She was in the battle with the Terrorwings a few hours ago, and she came out alive." Gregor said.

"Oh yes, the Terrorwings. Tell me more about that." Ares said.

"Well, I guess you heard about Henry?" Gregor asked. Ares nodded. "Well, after Nyx and I killed him, his new bond, Thor, fled. The he came back with an army of fliers, including his sister, Luna, and brothers, Erebus and Uranus. They fought with us, but we killed Thor, and Thor killed Clipclaw after she saved Luxa. You know about Clipclaw?" Gregor said. Ares nodded. "She's over there." Gregor gestured toward Clipclaw and Twitchtip.

"I know this." Ares said.

"Oh yeah, Ares, I bonded with Hera. Are you mad?" Gregor asked, dreading the answer. But Ares smiled.

"Why would I be mad? Hera was one of my only good friends before she disappeared. And she has obviously protected you well." He said.

"Yeah, Hera's a good bond. And Aurora's much happier now that her sister's back." Gregor said. "But everyone misses you a lot."

"I know this. I miss them too." Ares sighed. Gregor locked claws with him, and noticed that even if Ares was in full health, one of his claws was still missing. Gregor let go and turned to Nerissa, who had just tapped him on the shoulder.

"Gregor, do you wish to talk more? Or would you like to go back to the others? I am sure they are worried, as they think you are dead." She said.

"I probably should go back." Gregor said.

"Say hello to Hera for me. And tell Nyx that I am glad she is okay. And everyone else, like Luxa and Aurora and Howard and Nike. Yes, and Ripred, I suppose." Ares said. Gregor laughed.

"And for I, Gregor, will you tell my family that I am much happier now? And tell Luxa that I know she will make a great queen." Nerissa said. Gregor nodded.

"I will." He said.

"And please tell Hazard I miss him." Hamnet called.

"Me, too!" Thalia cried.

"And tell your sisters and parents that I am okay, and I miss them." Gregor's Grandma said.

"Say hello to everyone for us!" Clipclaw said. Gregor smiled his first real smile in a long time.

"I think it is time for you to go now." Nerissa said.

"How do I get back?" Gregor asked.

"Just close your eyes and ears. As soon as you are back, you will regain consciousness, and we will return to spirit form." Nerissa answered.

"I'll miss you, Ares." Gregor said.

"And I as well." Ares said.

"I'll miss everyone!" Gregor said. Everyone waved.

"Just close your eyes." Nerissa said.

Gregor was about to do so, but then a thought came to him. "Wait! Will I ever be able to talk to you again?" he asked.

Nerissa smiled. "Maybe, if you focus hard enough." She said. And Gregor closed his eyes and ears.

Right away, he felt himself return to his life form on the stone cold floor of the cavern. He heard a few sobs and felt a flutter of wings. The others needed him. He stirred.


	24. Kendra's decision

Chapter 24

Gregor sat up. The pain in his back was blinding, but strangely, it was a lot less bad as it had been before his little encounter with the dead, which had only taken an hour at the most.

He opened his eyes. He was no longer looking into the faces of his dead friends, but into the faces of his living friends. They looked fearful, but not to upset, so he probably had had a pulse. When they saw his eyes open, though, they all gave a cheer.

He felt his hand clenching something. He was still holding Hera's claw. He let go and gave the bat a hug, and she smiled.

"He lives!" Howard cried. Everybody was hugging him and Howard was trying to tend to his back. Now he was not only marked by white rat in the front, but also by silver bat in the back. It was a weird feeling.

"Guys! I saw Ares! And Nerissa, and Twitchtip, and Hamnet, and Frill, and Thalia, and Cartesian, and grandma, and Solovet and Clipclaw!" Gregor said. They all looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean? They are dead." Aurora said quizzically.

"Yeah, I went to the Hall of the Dead! There's a prophecy, or something…" and he told them about what had happened.

"But you did not leave this spot." Luxa said.

"Yeah I did, but my body didn't!" Gregor said.

"So let me get this straight, there's a prophecy that Sandwich wrote when he was dead, and only the dead know about it, and it says that you are chosen to speak to your dead friends?" Ripred said.

"Well, yeah." Gregor said lamely. Ripred made it sound so far-fetched.

"Okay, well what did they say?" Ripred asked.

"Umm, well, Ares wanted to say hi to everyone, and he wanted to tell you, Nyx, that he's glad you came out of hiding. And Hera, he's glad you're not dead. Nerissa wanted me to tell her family that she's much happier there. Hamnet wanted me to tell Hazard that he misses him, and same with Thalia and Frill. Solovet told me what happened when she was attacked in the Spinner Lands; it wasn't much different from what we thought." Gregor said this all very fast.

"I do not know, Gregor, this sounds quite unbelievable to me." Luxa said.

"But you have to believe me, because it's true!" Gregor said. She shrugged. Gregor decided to change the subject.

"So we beat the Terrorwings and have the bone?" he asked.

"Yes, we were very fortunate. But the only thing I do not understand is how they found out about our quest for the Bone, we did not confide in anyone else except Queen Athena, and she would not tell anyone." Howard said, puzzled.

There was a cry. Kendra had been sobbing over a clearly dead Leda, but now she looked up.

"It was me. And I am sorry. I told them about all of it, and Leda too. We came in contact with Thor a few months ago, and I was angry, and it slipped out. I intended to stay on his side, but when I saw that little gnawer die, and my bond…" Kendra buried her face in her hands.

Everyone looked shocked.

"I also poisoned Luxa and attacked Daedalus and Apollo, on Thor's orders. I am sorry." Kendra continued.

Luxa's eyes widened and her face reddened, and for a second Gregor thought she was going to explode, but then she did something that surprised him. She got up and walked over to her and put her arm around her shoulder.

"It is okay, Kendra." She said. Gregor was shocked. It was Kendra's fault that Clipclaw was dead, and that she had been poisoned, and Daedalus had been unfit to come on this trip, and Luxa forgave her?

Kendra sobbed. "Not, it is not! It will never be okay again! My whole life just died along with Leda! Once Regalia and my father finds out what I have done, they will hate me for it! I turned against my city, and now I can never go back. I am going to live in the Overland. There is nothing left to hold me here, now that Leda is gone."

The last part made everyone gasp. How could Kendra live in the Overland?

"But what about your family, Kendra?" Howard asked.

"All I have is my father, and he does not love me. He never even has time for me, because he is always training or fighting. Ever since my mother died in the War of Time, he considers me a waste of time. I will be much happier in the Overland." Kendra answered.

"But…who will you live with?" Gregor asked, confused.

"My grandfather, Renaldo. My mother was a halflander, but she told no one. She looked just like a Regalian. It was her father. I have been to visit him sometimes, but no one knew about it but Leda." Kendra answered.

Something clicked inside Gregor's head. Renaldo, the painter who had painted Aurora's picture! "Kendra, is your grandfather a painter in New York City?" he asked.

"Yes. How do you know?" Kendra asked.

"He painted a picture of Aurora for me. Did you tell him about the Underland?" Gregor asked.

"Yes, many times, but he already knew about it." Kendra said.

Suddenly, Luxa gasped. "Renaldo? Howard, have you ever heard stories about him?" she asked her cousin. Howard thought for a moment, then gasped too.

"Renaldo the Overlander, yes, my mother told me about him! He fought in that battle just before I was born, with the gnawers! He is legendary, he killed King Slashblood!"

Suddenly, Ripred gasped too. "_That _guy? _That's _Kendra's grandfather? I fought in that battle! We all thought he died?" he exclaimed.

"Who's King Slashblood?" Gregor asked.

"He was the rat king before Gorger. And Kendra's grandfather killed him!" Ripred said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yes, but he did not die. He married a Regalian, my grandmother, in secret, then returned to the Overland. My grandmother died giving birth to my mother, but my mother found a letter from her when she was seven, explaining everything. She told me about it, but never my father." Kendra said.

"Wow." Gregor said.

"Actually, that is his sword your holding." She said, gesturing to the emerald sword in Gregor's hand. "He gave it to my grandmother, and she hid it, and I recently found it and put it in the museaum. I really had to work to conceal from you who's it was, because if I let it slip it would mean revealing the secret that I swore not to tell anyone."

"Really?" Gregor asked. It looked like he had finally found who the sword belonged to, but he couldn't believe it. In his hands was the sword that had killed a rat king, the sword that had belonged to the mysterious painter who Gregor had met only a few weeks ago!

"Yes." Kendra said. Everyone sat in silence for a while, and it was only broken when Apollo flew in with Boots and Hazard. Howard quietly filled Hazard and Apollo in on what had happened, while Boots ran over to Gregor.

"Eww, you're all icky!" she said, but she hugged him anyway. It was then Gregor realized that she must be four years old now, and he must be thirteen. Her birthday was only three days after Luxa's, and his was only a week after hers. They had definitely had been in the Underland for at least two weeks.

"Hey, Boots. You're four years old now, did you know that?" he said.

"I am?" Boots looked shocked, and then she smiled. She ran over to everyone, shouting, "I'm four!" in their faces and holding up four fingers. They all laughed.

"Well, I think we should be going now, unless anyone has any ideas what to do with this bone." Ripred said.

"We should decide when we return to Regalia. I am sure we will think of something by then." Luxa said. Everyone got onto their bats, Kendra rode with Nyx, because with Clipclaw gone, her back was free. They were going to take the short way back now.

They had discovered so much, but Gregor had never felt worse. His whole body ached, Clipclaw was dead, and everyone was hurt. He hoped things would turn around soon.


	25. Flying back

Chapter 24

As they flew on, Gregor began talking to Kendra. He didn't know why, he was still a long way of calling her his friend, but he did. The fact that she had the courage to leave the only home she'd ever had and move to a totally different place intrigued him.

"What are you going to do about your looks, when you're in the Overland? It's not normal for people to have really pale skin and silvery hair." He asked her. She shrugged.

"My grandfather said that if I ever came to live with him, I would have to change my hair color using something called…dye?" she said. Gregor nodded.

"My eyes are not really that bad, but my skin, I am just going to have to live with." She continued.

"Oh, okay." Gregor said.

"It will be a big change for me not to have a flier to get around on, but…" her voice trailed off. Gregor actually felt sorry for her. He knew what it felt like to lose a bond.

"What about your soldier training? Will you continue that in the Overland?" Persephone, who had just flown up, asked.

Kendra sighed. "I do not believe I will be able too." She said.

"Yeah, we don't really use swords in the Overland, only guns, which I really don't think they'd allow a thirteen year old to use in New York City." Gregor said.

"What is a gun?" Kendra asked.

"It's kind of like…some sort of machine, which shoots out these little lead ball things called bullets that can kill almost anyone with one shot." Gregor said. Kendra looked shocked.

"I do not think I would want to use one. I much prefer swords." She said. Then they were silent for a while. Gregor took that time to survey the group.

Gregor was amazed Persephone had gotten out of this alive, but he kept that too himself. She really was a skilled bat.

He probably had the worst injuries in the group. Luxa was sleeping right now, with a nasty cut on her cheek. Hazard was curled up on Aurora's back next to her, unharmed. Boots, Temp, and Apollo were also unharmed, but the rest of the bats had numerous scratches on their wings, but nothing to affect flight. Howard and Kendra both had a couple of cuts in a few places, but Ripred had only scratches, because, after all, he was so skilled at defending himself.

Then his thoughts turned to how long he had been away from his family. Hopefully when Nyx and Persephone had gone to Regalia, they had told Lizzie that he was okay, so he hoped she wouldn't worry too much. But his parents! They had no idea what was going on right now, and he had been gone for two weeks! Man, he was in for it when he got home.

"Okay, let's stop to rest." Ripred's voice came from below them. They all coasted in off to the side. Howard passed along their last bits of bread and cheese. Gregor gave part of his to Boots, since he had this empty feeling in his stomach that prevented him from being too hungry.

"Gregor? Can I talk to you privately for a moment?" Luxa had apparently woken up.

"Sure." Gregor said. They went off to the side of the group.

"Gregor, the council will want you to stay in the Underland now. They believe that it is not over for the warrior yet, and that trouble can come at any time." Luxa said.

Gregor sighed. "I just can't do that, Luxa. My family needs me, in the Overland."

Luxa nodded. "I knew you would say that. That is why I will not persuade you to stay. But you must leave soon after we get back, so they will not have a chance to go to any measures to prevent you leaving."

"But what about Vikus? He wouldn't let them hold me here if they tried!" Gregor said.

"You know Vikus is unwell. He would do his best, but the council would eventually overpower him." Luxa said grimly. She had a point.

"Okay, I'll leave quickly. But I need to say goodbye to everyone first." Gregor said. They walked back over to the rest of the group.

Gregor and Luxa spread their blankets along with Boots's and Hazard's at the feet of Hera and Aurora. Gregor wanted to talk to Hera.

"Hera, I have to leave the Underland really soon." He said.

"For how long?" Hera asked.

"I don't know. I really want to come back, but it may take me a while to find a way." said Gregor.

Hera nodded. "You will find a way. Of that I am certain. But however long it takes, I will be here, waiting for you." She said. These were very similar to the words she had said months ago, before they had even been bonds. It meant even more to him now, to know that he had a friend who would always be waiting for him.

He had made friends in the Underland that were much stronger than the ones he had in the Overland. Larry and Angelina probably thought he was some walking disease now, the way he was "sick" and out of school all the time. They had probably given up on him already. He wished he could tell them the truth, but he didn't think they'd believe him.

In the Underland, however, he had friends that he could always be honest with, regardless of how different they were. It didn't matter if they were human, bat, rat, or roach, they were true friends. He hated to leave them, but his family needed him more.

Gregor laid his head down and wrapped his arms around Boots. She snuggled closer to him.

"I love you, Gregor." She said.

"I love you too, Boots." Gregor said. It felt great to have someone counting on you like that, even if it was a big responsibility. Gregor didn't know what he would do without his family.

Boots fell asleep fast, but Gregor stayed awake for a little while longer. Ripred was on watch. The bats were all asleep, and Temp, but Gregor had a feeling Luxa was awake beside him. She had her back to Gregor holding Hazard, but her breathing was too fast for someone who was sleeping.

"Luxa," he whispered, so silently that he didn't think anyone but Luxa could hear. She turned her head his way. She was indeed awake. He held out his hand and she grasped it. "I love you." Gregor said easily.

"I love you too." She said. And they both fell asleep, holding hands.


	26. The Bone's passage

Okay, this chapter reveals a clue to my next sequel, which will take place when Gregor is fourteen. It's called Gregor and the Run of the River. See if you can spot the clue!

Chapter 26

The rest of the fairly short flight was nothing interesting. Gregor talked mostly to only Hera and Luxa.

When they landed in the High Hall, their group was two smaller than it had been when they had left, excluding Persephone. Gregor remembered leaving Regalia, anxious but excited, with the sword he now knew to be Renaldo's. It seemed forever away.

"Gregor!" A happy voice called. In a second he felt Lizzie squeezing the air out of him in the tightest hug you could ever imagine. So she was okay. That was a relief.

"Liz-zie!" Boots cried, breaking into the hug. "I'm four now!" she said, waving four fingers in Lizzie's face. Lizzie picked her up.

Gregor examined his sister. She was still small and skinny little Lizzie, but she looked different. She looked older than her age, even older since Gregor had last seen her, which was only about a week ago. She had definitely been through more than an average elementary schooler, and she was he only nine year old Gregor had ever seen with worry lines on her brow.

"Hi, Hera!" Lizzie said, waving to Hera. Hera smiled.

"Hello, Lizzie. It is great to see you!" The bat said, enveloping Lizzie in a hug. "And how is Daedalus doing?"

"Great!" Lizzie said. "He's improving a lot! He's nearly totally better!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands.

Suddenly, Gregor heard a relieved sigh. His head turned and he saw Vikus, leaning on some kind of crutch, standing in the doorway. "Oh, thank goodness." He said. He rushed over to them and pulled them all into a hug.

"The army has only just returned; they said that you, Luxa, had gotten free, but the Thor was still at large. But you are okay!" he said.

Luxa sighed. "Not all of us, I am afraid, Vikus." She said, gesturing sadly behind her. It took Vikus a moment to register their loss, but then he looked solemn.

"Clipclaw and Leda?" He muttered, staring at Luxa and Gregor. And they launched into their whole story, of the trip down the path, the cave-in, Gregor's black-out, Persephone finding them, interpreting the prophecy, the bone, the battle, Thor capturing Luxa, Clipclaw and Leda's deaths, and Luna attacking Gregor. They carefully omitted the part about Kendra kissing Gregor; they were sure Vikus wouldn't really want to hear about that.

Then Gregor told his own tale, about his encounter in the Hall of the Dead. He had expected Vikus to be astonished, and perhaps disbelieving, but the old man just smiled.

"Well, it appears Sandwich was just as mysterious dead as he was alive." He said. Gregor dwelled on this for a bit.

"Umm, Vikus, I think there is something I must tell you." Kendra had stepped out from behind the group. She took a deep breath and told Vikus how she had attacked Daedalus and Apollo and poisoned Luxa. Now Vikus was astonished. He just gaped at her.

"I know you are upset with me. And everyone else will be, too. So I am going to move to the Overland." She said. If it was possible, Vikus looked even more surprised.

"You do not have too…I am sure it will not…but how?" he stuttered, staring at her. She told him about Renaldo.

"So he is your _grandfather_?" he asked. Kendra nodded. "Are you sure you can manage in the Overland?" he asked again.

Before Kendra answered, Luxa shot Gregor a look that plainly said, 'help her in he Overland or else you will have me to answer to'. Gregor was a little uncertain, but he spoke up. "I'll help her." He said.

Vikus nodded to him. "Thank you Gregor. I am sure Kendra is very grateful." He said. Kendra nodded, staring at her feet.

"Well then, come. You all look in dire need of medical assistance. Let us go to the hospital." Vikus continued, and began walking. They all wearily followed.

In the hospital, teams of doctors were sent to work on each of them, so they were separated. Gregor was instructed to bathe first, to rid himself of the dried blood that caked every part of him. His cuts from the battle, especially the claw markings left by Luna, opened and stung horribly. When he got out, he was laid on a table and given a dose of medicine to induce sleep. He passed out immediately, relieved for the chance to sleep.

When he awoke some hours later, there was a tray of food on his bedside table. Renaldo's emerald sword he had had on his belt had been propped up against the wall, along with the backpack that contained duct tape, flashlights, and the cowhide bag containing the bone. He wolfed down the food and thought about what he was going to do with the sword.

He guessed he would have to see if Renaldo wanted it back first, but he was reluctant to do that. He had become sort of attached to the weapon. If he had the chance, he would like to keep it, just for memory's purpose. It reminded him of the whole trip, the whole hellish trip.

Gregor looked down at himself. He was covered in bandages, and he felt more on his back, although he couldn't see them. The felt clean and cool, but they were a reminder of so much tragedy. Every wound stung with the memory of Clipclaw, and of his life before he had been dragged even farther into the Underland's affairs. Unlike after he had fulfilled the Prophecy of Light, he knew he had to return sometime. There was no way he would be allowed to stay away much longer. The council would go to any means, even imprisoning one of his friends, to get him to come back, but he wouldn't let them resort to that. He would come back of his own accord, as soon as that time came when he was needed. He no longer had a choice.

Then he remembered the bone in his bag. He reached over and opened the backpack and pulled out the cowhide bag. The bone was fairly bloody, but all of the blood was dried. But immediately, without thinking, he flung the bone down on the bead and stared at it.

It had just registered to him that he was staring at _the Bane's bone _on his bed. This was the bone of the prophesized ruler of the gnawers, who he had killed some months ago. What exactly were they supposed to do with it?

He persuaded the next doctor who passed to let him out of bed. He said he had to go see Vikus. He wasn't exactly lying; as seeing Vikus about the bone was his first thought, but he passed the prophecy room on the way, and had to look in.

There, on the West wall, was the Prophecy of Bone carved in a corner. He went over to it with the bone, more to read it than anything else, but that was when the mystery unraveled.

He was just reading the final line, 'decided on the final breath', when he saw it. There was a small indentation in the wall, shaped _exactly _like the bone he was holding in his hand.

He didn't know exactly what made him do it, but he pressed the bone into the shape in the wall the way it fit. There was a click, and suddenly, Gregor saw a crack of light surrounding the Prophecy of Bone alone. It was a gap, surrounding every side.

He put down the bone and dug his fingers into the gap. He was now holding a slab of wood which the prophecy was written on. It was surprisingly lightweight. He pulled it back and rested it on the floor. In its place was a doorway opening into a torch lit passageway. Gregor knew the smart thing to do would have been to go get someone, but he couldn't resist and blindly started walking down the path.

It was short, only about ten minutes long. It sloped downwards gradually. When he reached the end, he saw another door, but this one had a handle. He grasped it and pulled it out, expecting to see another room.

But instead he saw…the river?


	27. Return to the Overland

Okay, I am sad to say that this is the final chapter of Gregor and the Bone of Bane, but as I said before, there is a sequel coming soon! Thanks everyone, for reading! I hope you like the last chapter!

Chapter 27

Gregor gaped at it. Why would the path that the bone revealed lead to the _river? _There was no reason for it!

Gregor just listened to the rush for a moment as the water raged by, trying to think about it. But he could not come up with any possible explanation for this, so he just ran beck to get the others to come and see.

"Well, this is stumping." Ripred was saying. He had brought Vikus, Luxa, Ripred, and Howard to investigate. "Tell us again how you found it, Gregor?"

Gregor explained, once again. "I was looking at the prophecy and there was a space that the bone fit in. I just put it in…and this path opened up." He said, shrugging.

"Perhaps there is more to the prophecy." Howard suggested. But Luxa shook her head.

"It does not mention anything about a river. And we have fulfilled the whole thing. We retrieved the bone, discovered light to be death, and Gregor held when my life was at cost. We have finished." She said.

"Yes, Luxa seems to be correct. But this is senseless." Vikus said.

"Well, I can't stay much longer to help you figure it out." Gregor said. He really had to get home soon, before the council held his sisters ransom or something.

Vikus nodded. "Yes, you must leave soon. We will call for you if we figure this out." He said. He and Ripred began walking back, but Luxa, Gregor, and Howard stayed behind a minute.

"Well, we have another mystery on our hands." Luxa sighed.

"Yes, and one we are no closer to solving than the rest of them." Howard said. They were all silent for a moment, staring at the river.

"So, I guess we should go back." Gregor said. The other two nodded, and they descended down the passage again.

They didn't stay much longer. Hera was to fly Gregor and his sisters up, since Daedalus was still too sore to fly Lizzie. She was also going to be flying Kendra, since Leda was dead.

Kendra was going to stop at Gregor's house for a short time, so they could get her looking more like an Overlander. So her appearance wasn't too different than what she was used too, they would dye her hair a light blonde instead of a darker color.

They all gathered in the High Hall for one last goodbye, but it wasn't as sad as it had been last time, since Gregor knew he had to return sometime.

Kendra's father hadn't even _shown up._ She probably would be much better off in the Overland, with Renaldo. And it would give Gregor a chance to talk with the older man, which he really wanted to do.

"Bye, Ripred." Gregor said, walking over to the bat.

"Run like the river, Overlander." Ripred responded. As usual, he showed little sign of any emotion. Gregor moved over to Nyx, Persephone, and Apollo.

"Thanks again, you guys. You were all so much help." Gregor said. They smiled.

"It was nothing." Nyx said. Apollo nodded.

"Bye, Gregor!" Persephone said, waving her wings at him. Gregor smiled, trying to get a mental picture of the smaller bat. When he came back, she would probably be full-grown.

"Bye, Vikus. Bye, Mareth." he said to the two who were standing about a yard away.

"Fly you high, Gregor." Vikus said. Mareth clapped him on the back.

"Be safe in the Overland." Howard had come up.

"See you, man." He said. Then he went over to Luxa. "I'll miss you." He said.

"I will miss you as well. But you will come back." She replied, embracing him.

"Yeah, I will." Gregor replied. He went back over to Hera. "Ready to go?" he asked her.

"Yes. Let us go." she said.

Gregor was sitting on Hera's neck, holding Boots. She had been with him during all his trips to the Underland. He couldn't imagine coming without her.

Kendra was sitting in the middle of Hera's back, talking to Lizzie who was behind her. It was a little tight, but they fit.

In minutes, much to quick for Gregor, they were back up at the laundry room grate. Kendra helped him get Lizzie and Boots off. Lizzie was silently crying. She had come to love the Underland, too.

"Bye, Hera." He said, locking claws with his bond.

"Fare you well, Gregor. We will contact you when you are needed." She said. She waved her wing at him and then descended down the tube again. Gregor watched her until she was out of sight. Then he gave a sigh.

"All right, let's go." He said. Kendra didn't look as lost as he had expected her too, but then again, she had been to the Overland before.

They all took the elevator to their apartment. When they knocked, his mom flung open the door and grabbed him.

"Why—didn't—you tell us—what was—going on?" she asked furiously. "Do you know how we worried? Do you know how much I couldn't sleep?" she fumed. "Who is this?" she asked, noticing Kendra.

"Mom, this is Kendra, Luxa's friend. She's moving to the Overland with her grandfather." Gregor explained.

"What? You have some explaining to do, mister." She said, pulling him onto the couch.

So Gregor told her absolutely everything that had happened to him, with Lizzie and Boots interrupting to tell it from their point of view. His mom looked astonished.

"So that's why you look like you've been mummified?" she asked, referring to the multiple bandages still covering his body.

"Yeah, pretty much." Gregor answered.

"Well, you all look hungry. Come eat." She said. She gave them all some soup. Kendra didn't talk very much over the meal, but she thanked his mom for it.

"Umm, mom, I've got to go get Kendra some hair dye. We want her to…blend in." Gregor said.

"Are you crazy? You can't go out with all those bandages! I'll call your father; he's out shopping anyway." She said. His mom and dad had both gotten cheap cell phones as well.

About an hour later, Gregor's dad came home with the hair dye. Gregor explained to Kendra how to use it, and she came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later looking like an Overlander blonde. They just put a coat on her because she said she had some Overland clothes at her Grandfather's apartment. Then they went out, Gregor covered his bandages with a scarf, coat, hat, and gloves.

"I just wanted to say thanks, Gregor, for all your help. And I am very sorry for all the things I put you and Luxa through." Kendra sighed as they turned down fifth street.

"It's okay. I hope you'll be happier in the Overland." He answered.

"I'm sure I will be. It is just a little colder." She said with a shiver. Gregor laughed.

"It won't be like that for much longer." He said. Spring was in a little over a month. January was nearly over.

They turned down the next street and Gregor saw the painter's building again. It still had the same pictures in the window. They opened the door and Renaldo looked up. When he saw them, he looked astonished.

"Kendra?" he asked, looking at her. She nodded.

"Hello, grandfather. I am home."


End file.
